Evangeline’s House serves a vital role in helping teens succeed in life
When CPS brought Stacy, age 13, to Evangeline’s House, she was shy and stayed in her room a lot, having little interaction with the other youth in the house.
Stacy came from a single parent household, as her mother died giving birth to her. Though he never said so, Stacy felt her father blamed her for her mother’s death. Her home life swirled with violence and chaos, and Stacy found herself on the abusive end of her father’s drunken tirades.
As weeks passed by, the staff gently tried to get Stacy to climb out of her shell; showing love and patience to a young teen trying to make sense out of everything. In time, changes began to occur as Stacy started to talk more and interact with the other youth in the house. She enjoyed playing Minecraft on the X-box with her peers, engaging in conversation, asking staff what chores she could do to help and even laughing and showing her dry, but very pleasant sense of humor.
While Stacy began to trust staff and interact with the other young people, her social worker and lawyer continued to navigate through DCYF, the courts, family, etc. to find the young teen a good home. Stacy knew Evangeline’s House would be a short stay but in talking to staff, she expressed how anxious she was not knowing where she would be placed. However, soon thereafter, Stacy was excited to learn that a cousin and her family were able and wanting to take her into their home in Western Washington until Stacy’s eventual placement with her aunt could be finalized.
When the day came to leave Evangeline’s House, Stacy’s social worker arrived to drive the excited young lady to Western Washington. However, as the social worker and the staff walked Stacy to the door, everyone was surprised to see what waited at the bottom of the steps. There stood Stacy’s cousin and her family, who surprised Stacy by driving from Western Washington to pick her up. Needless to say, Stacy was very excited to see them!
Following a brief cheerful reunion, Stacy was en-route to Western Washington while the staff, with tears of joy in their eyes, walked back to Evangeline’s House. As the program manager, Mark Nottle, said “Stacy’s story is a wonderful reminder of why we are here.”
Evangeline’s House, which is owned and operated by The Salvation Army of Spokane, is a short-term emergency placement center for youth, ages 12 through 20.
Please consider giving a monetary donation to Evangeline’s House to help children like Stacy. For more info, or to give a tax-deductible financial gift, please visit www.makingspokanebetter.org.