A Mother Rises from Homelessness to College Graduation
When caseworkers of Family and Children Services of Clark County first met Darlene Stocks, she was living in a campground with her three children. They had nowhere else to go.
Stocks' husband was in prison for domestic violence, leaving Darlene and the children with no means of support. She also needed treatment for drug and alcohol dependency.
While she got help at the Women's Recovery Center in Xenia, Family and Children Services, a division of JFSCC, placed her children into temporary custody through foster care. Today her seven and seventeen year old sons and eight year old daughter are reunited with her. Their lives have changed greatly, for the better. Stocks sums up their turnaround, "Within the year we went from being completely homeless to living comfortably in a home and I was close to graduation from college."
In June, she will graduate with an Associate's degree from Sinclair Community College's User Support Help Desk program, preparing her as an A+ Certified computer technician. Family and personal problems sidetracked Darlene from her goal when she was just a few classes short of receiving her diploma. That's when the caseworkers of JFSCC helped her put her life and educational plans back on track.
First, with JFSCC's support, she completed drug and alcohol treatment and she continues to receive supportive outpatient services through McKinley Hall.
JFSCC also helped her transition from homelessness by placing her in a shelter through Interfaith Hospitality Network. She and her children now live in a house in Springfield after JFSCC helped her obtain Section 8 housing.
"They've pretty much opened every door for us so that we can live a better life," Stocks said. That also includes referring her to Legal Aid which assisted her with divorce and obtaining child support. She has received other valuable services through JFSCC and partnering agencies including: food, medical and cash assistance, other financial assistance with tuition, gas cards, deposits on her house, utility services and counseling.
Family and Children Services also provided transportation when her car broke down so she could enroll her children in school.
JFSCC is helping Stocks see to her children's future by referring them to a tutoring program with the Clark County Literacy Coalition as well as assisting with school supplies and other education related expenses. Stocks is pleased that her seventeen year old son is career focused and studying graphic design at Springfield-Clark Career Technology Center.
With her own graduation approaching, Stocks will be taking advantage of services at WorkPlus, JFSCC's career and workforce development center. "They've already offered to help with my resume, and I plan to use their job search tools to look for jobs before graduation so I'll be ready."
