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House of Ruth

Tatiana and James’ Story

Tatiana and James’ Story

Tatiana* and James* live in House of Ruth’s supportive housing for mothers and children fleeing domestic violence, and James is enrolled in Kidspace, House of Ruth’s developmental childcare center.

Together, Tatiana and James left a dangerous situation. They have had to deal with anxiety surrounding new circumstances while recovering from the trauma of abuse, but Tatiana knows House of Ruth’s staff is here for her. She says House of Ruth has been “extremely supportive for herself and for her child.”

Tatiana is truly focused on creating safety and stability for herself and for James. Six months ago when she came to House of Ruth, she was working part-time. She is now working full-time and improving her financial situation.

At first, it was understandably hard for Tatiana to trust James would be safe outside her care, but after many positive interactions, she now trusts our Kidspace staff and embraces the services available to James. She doesn’t hesitate to call staff to discuss his needs. She has had some concerns about James, and wanted to be sure his developmental progress was on target, so she requested additional developmental screenings. Our staff helped facilitate this process, and Tatiana is eager to connect James to services that will help him thrive.

Tatiana has been through a lot and has access to the support she needs to recover.  She is able to focus on things like school readiness goals for her son, and not worry about safety or housing.

*Names have been changed.

Rita’s Story

Just six months ago, Rita* was a resident of A New Start, one of House of Ruth’s scattered site programs for women who are survivors of domestic violence. In our scattered site programming, clients receive rental assistance at a level based on their income, as well as case management, group counseling, and life skills support.

Rita formed a strong relationship with her case manager, and she was empowered to take advantage of all the resources available to her through House of Ruth. Rita found the space to begin healing from trauma through one-on-one counseling at our Domestic Violence Support Center. Counseling helped her to cope with feelings of grief, loss, and depression. She also actively participated in psychoeducational groups on domestic violence. Rita learned more about developing healthy boundaries and the dynamics of healthy relationships. She is continuing to live a life that is free from domestic violence, and she has developed a healthy support system for herself.

When Rita arrived at House of Ruth she did not have a job, but her main goal was to take over the lease of the apartment unit she moved into, and to become financially independent.

Rita is in her sixties, and although she was out of the workforce for a long time, she hit the ground running. Staff assisted Rita with building her confidence through resume writing and practicing interview skills. We referred her to a federal agency that had a job opening, and Rita’s preparation paid off. She was hired!

Rita continuously worked hard and saved her money. She also attended our financial literacy trainings and received debt remediation support. Staff coached Rita on developing a good rapport with the landlord, and today she is proactively and effectively advocating for herself as a tenant.

Rita achieved her goal! She took over the lease of her apartment, and by the time she exited our program six months ago, she had saved $4,000.

We are so proud of Rita for believing in herself and putting her goals into action to reclaim her life.

*Name has been changed.