Parenting can be hard.
Being a single parent can be even harder.
That’s where Boys Town can help.
Thanks to Boys Town Iowa, Fardowsa Yusuf and her family were able to get through some tough times and she and her children are now a tremendous success story.
But that wasn’t always the case.
Fardowsa and her children were living in Storm Lake, Iowa, and were referred for Boys Town services in October of 2022. Facing issues and needing help, the children were temporarily placed into a foster home near where their mother was living at the time.
Fardowsa was able to get into in-patient treatment in Sioux City, Iowa, and was now further away from her children. There were multiple specialists and visitation specialists that stepped up to ensure the children were able to see their mother on a consistent basis. This involved several hours of transportation to and from their foster placements.
These visits continued to happen as mom made her way out of in-patient care and into a community living arrangement.
Eventually, Fardowsa was able to secure an apartment in Sioux City and visits were now able to take place at her home. Boys Town collaborated hard with her in obtaining an apartment and securing employment in the area. Staff also was there for Fardowsa in developing relapse prevention skills as well as establishing healthy boundaries.
SafeCare services were referred for Fardowsa while she was still getting in-patient care. At first, she was apprehensive about engaging in those services.
Boys Town’s Shannon Lacey continued to engage with Fardowsa in services and was able to make a breakthrough. Shannon was integral in aiding mom with preparing to have her own apartment and to get the children back into her home. Shannon collaborated with Fardowsa on effective parenting skills based on the children’s ages, proper health decisions and getting the apartment ready for young children.
Fardowsa and Shannon developed a good relationship throughout the SafeCare services and Fardowsa successfully completed the services, with mastery, in November of 2023.
The children were successfully reunified with their mother, thanks to all the transition work that was done with SafeCare and the Boys Town Iowa staff.
Today, that success story continues. Fardowsa was well prepared for being reunited with her kids. And she has continued to keep her children safe and in her care. Fardowsa is actively employed and meets all her children’s needs.
Parenting, indeed, is hard. But with help, like Boys Town Iowa provided, it can have a happy ending.