Gail

I have been involved with Brighton Center since before my daughter was born.

 We moved to Kentucky when I was eight months pregnant and I heard about Every Child Succeeds. Our first meeting was supposed to happen on May 21, 2008, but when my home visitor called to confirm, my husband had to tell her that we would need to reschedule because I was in labor. On May 22, 2008 my beautiful little girl was born. After she was born we became part of Every Child Succeeds and then following graduation three years later, enrolled in Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY). 

The HIPPY program gave me tools and resources to help my daughter get a head start on her education. We received books that she still reads today and activities that built and enforced her new skills. My daughter gained skills with using her numbers and letters at an early age, and she gained a love of books that we share. 

I have learned that there are always going to be people that want to tear you down, and there will always be people that want to build you up. I am grateful to have such supportive people in my life come from Brighton Center. They built me up to succeed even when I thought that I couldn’t do it. When I didn’t think I could go through anymore, I was given a hand to continue to move forward and keep looking for the good, and try to be the good for other people. 

Brighton Center provided the basics that we needed to survive when we could not provide them all for ourselves. The difference in our life is beyond measure. I don’t know where my family would be without them. I have also been given the chance to give back in a small way to say thank you for the help I received. I am proud to do anything I can to help Brighton Center because it will have a lasting impact on the world my daughter will grow up in.

One of the biggest obstacles we have faced was when my daughter was two months old. We were told we could no longer stay where we were. We moved into a motel for a few weeks and then to a family friends house. Neither places were ideal but we were making do with what we had. With the help of Brighton Center we were given assistance for a deposit on a studio apartment, and a voucher to the Clothing Closet which allowed us to get clothes and blankets that helped us through the cold winter. We utilized the Food Pantry when we couldn’t afford to buy groceries. We are now living in a two bedroom apartment in the Fort Thomas school district and are both employed. I am a full- time student at NKU just beginning my second year. My daughter is a happy, healthy, beautiful little girl that knows nothing of the struggles we have gone through.  
 Our lives are very different from eight years ago. We are on our way to owning our own home whereas we were homeless in the beginning. I was a stay at home mom, now I work and am a full-time student. My daughter goes to a top rated school in a top rated school district and is succeeding because of the head start she had with HIPPY. We are moving forward and reaching the goals that we have set for ourselves with the help from Brighton Center.

My advice to others about HIPPY is to have one meeting, let someone show you what the program is about and how it can benefit you and your children. The confidence your child will build in their abilities with the practice and skill building exercises will be notable. The time you will spend with your child will be meaningful to you both. The books you get to keep will help build a library that can be enjoyed over and over. As a bonus, you will also be opened up to a whole other world of resources that Brighton Center offers. From financial planning to family planning, to buying a home and all of the other programs offered. The resources are endless for anyone that is suffering in any way. Let someone from Brighton Center enter your life and you will be forever thankful as long as you go in trusting that they are there to help build you up, never to break you down.