Because over 1,000,000 Children are Abused and Neglected in this Country every year; including 9,000 in Colorado alone.

 

SUCCESS STORIES

 

Tiny Little Natalie Tested Positive for Crack Cocaine and Marijuana at Birth and was taken away from her Birth Mom immediately. She went to live with Foster Parents Karen and Ryan when she was just Three Weeks Old - joining her three older Siblings who already lived there.

 

Karen says, "She was not even Five Pounds when she was Born.

She was Born Six-Weeks Premature and because of the effect of the Drugs her Mom had taken, she was behind developmentally, but we adored her just the way she was. She was the Sweetest Baby - she rarely cried at this Tiny Age and she seemed to be so content.

At Three Months, she started to laugh. But at Four months, she was still so small and only in the Twentieth Percentile for her growth."

 

When Natalie was just 10 Weeks old, The Kempe Center reached out to the Family and asked to enroll Natalie into The Kempe Infants in Foster and Kinship Care program. Kempe offered to come to Karen's Home, perform Developmental Evaluations of Natalie, and help get her better and over the bump of being Born Premature and Addicted.

The Team from The Kempe Center recommended Special Services for Natalie and then step by step helped Natalie catch up.

 

"If Kempe hadn't shown up and given me simple ways to help her improve and provide Care she needed, her development would have continued to be delayed," Karen remembers. "They did Five In-Home Visits during the Course of Natalie's first Eighteen Months of Life. By the Fourth Visit, Natalie had caught up. By the Fifth Visit she was Verbally ahead of her age. The Knowledge and Early Intervention Services Kempe gave me enabled me to help Natalie move on with her Childhood - she was right on track."

 

Karen and Ryan adopted Natalie, and she is an unusually smart Girl who can Play contentedly for hours. She is Safe. She is Healthy. She is Loved. She will have a Productive Life.

Karen looks back on the first Eighteen Months of natalie's Life and says, "Natalie is a Miracle. Kempe was a Key Part of that Miracle and I am forever grateful."

 

Justin's Story

A Life where you Live in a Run-Down House, where you see Drug Use every night, where you're Caring for your Two Baby Sisters, and you Live with an overwhelming Sense of Hopelessness.

 

Then, imagine that you are only an 11-year-old Boy. Justin doesn't have to imagine ... that was his Life!

 

Justin was Physically Abused daily by his Parents. Both were Addicted to Methamphetamine (or Meth) and were constant Users.

What was worse, Justin's Parents were also Producing the Drug and exposing everyone in the Home, including Justin's Baby Sisters, to the Toxic and Deadly Chemicals used to make it.

This young Boy's Life was a daily struggle to survive.

 

For Justin, an average day involved staying out of his Parents' way, as they Used and Dealt Meth. Parenting his Two Baby Sisters, making sure they were safe and had enough to Eat and, simply Surviving to Live another day.

Getting Food for his Sisters turned out to be the turning point in young Justin's Life. He was caught Shoplifting Food and Police brought him home to discover his Parents' Meth Activities. The Three Children were immediately removed from the home and the Parents were Arrested. The Kids were all placed in Foster Care, but Justin, because of the Guilt, Shame and Anger he was feeling, started to act out - he Punched Walls, was Verbally Abusive and got suspended from School!

 

This is when Justin was introduced to Kempe's Team of Compassionate Experts and Mentors in our Fostering Healthy Futures Program.

Kempe recognized as the World Leader in the Fight Against Child Abuse and Neglect, has Nine Innovative Programs that Treat Abused Children (from Birth to Age 18), and our Programs are directed by some of the Nation's Leading Experts. Our Fostering Healthy Futures Program is Targeted toward Kids in Justin's situation, and, it is designed to help improve these Children's Academic Achievement, Mental health and Social Functioning, and to give them the chance for a more Hopeful, Happy Life.

 

Justin Attended Weekly Skills Groups and met with his Mentor for Nine Months. He worked hard. Justin learned how to cope and how to deal positively with his Emotions. He learned to trust again and see that he has Value and is worthy of Love and Attention.

Justin now lives with his Sisters and his Adoptive Family. He is Cared For, Feels Wanted and is Loved. He also has Hope for a better Life and now dreams of becoming a Judge!

 

 

Tracy and Kempe's Fostering Healthy Futures Program

 

Before the Age of Six, I had already spent most of those years living with an Aunt and Uncle. I lived in CENIKOR - a Residential Drug Rehabilitation Institution.

My Mother who was a Heroine Addict was Sentenced to CENIKOR as an alternative to Prison. Eventually, my Mother was back on Drugs and living a Lifestyle that led her to be incarcerated for Four years, starting when I was Five.

During those Four Years, my Brother and I were sent to live with a Foster Care Family. We were only allowed to visit my Mom in Prison a few times and communication was very limited. After Four years in Foster Care, I came home from School one afternoon to the News that my Brother and I would be reunited with our mom...that night!

 

During the ensuing Three years, my Brother and I were never checked on by our School or a Social Worker from Child Welfare System. During this time, my Mother was heavily involved in Drugs, did not have us in School, and had my Brother and I stealing for Drug Habit.

I left when I was Twelve Years Old to live with my Aunt and Uncle and was forced to leave my younger Brother behind.

 

Every year for the past Six Years, I have spoken to the Kids in Kempe's Fostering Healthy Future Mentoring Program during its annual "Panel Night."

This Event consists of Panel Members like me who grew up in "Out of Home Care." This could be Foster Care, Residential Institutions, or with Kin or Relatives other than a Birth Parent.

The Kids in Fostering Healthy Futures are responsible for calling and personally inviting the panelist, sending out Invitations, planning a Tour of the Kempe Center, organizing the Meal, and decorating the room. The Kids start out the evening by sharing who they are and where they are currently living, followed by the Panelist telling his or her Story of growing up in "Out of Home Care." The Main Point of Panel Night is to give the Kids an opportunity to ask the panelist Questions about their own Childhood.

Some of the Questions are:

. Were you scared when you visited your Mom in Prison?

. Were you afraid to ask for things you lost or wanted?

. Were you upset when you had to leave your Brother...did you miss him?

. Did you think it was your fault or that your parents didn't want you?

 

No matter how many Mentors, Doctors or People in these Kids' Lives tell them they will be ok or that they are going to get through this, it means more coming from an Adult who has actually been through it. It is a night that they are given the opportunity to talk and share with People who have been where they are, who have lost the People in their Lives who are supposed to Love them unconditionally, who teach them to Love and Trust, who know what it's like not to have a place to call Home, to live in a House of People and always feel like an outsider looking in, to grow up way too early and to live in fear of planning for the future when you are not sure where you will be the next week.

 

The common theme is running this night is ABANDONMENT and every Child deals with that Emotion differently. For some it's Anger and Aggression. This year in my Invitation, a Girl wrote "If you feel uncomfortable at Panel Night it is okay to leave or you can sit down for a little bit and talk to yourself to figure out if it is an appropriate answer."

Kempe is giving these Children the tools to stop and collect themselves before making decisions that are based out of Fear and Anger that will lead to Negative Consequences, Kempe gives them a Safe Environment to find their Voice, to ask for Support and the ability to tell an Adult what they want or need.

 

They learn to reach out for relationships knowing they will not all be temporarily. It's a place they can come together and share and more importantly an opportunity to come together and know they are not the only ones! To learn that while it may not look like what they thought it would or come in a perfect package with their mom and Dad, it is possible to have a Family.

These Kids are so grateful for the little things in Life that often times bigger and better seem out of reach.

 

Kempe provides them with Guidance and Inspiration to get past limiting thought, all of which I struggled with well into my 30s.

Thank you for the opportunity to share my Story and to be a Voice for these Kids! Because Kempe is so dedicated to protecting the Kids' Privacy and offering them a Safe Place to share, many People will never truly understand what these Kids are forced to deal with. I would also like to thank the Kemp Staff and Foundation. Their dedication to this cause will not only change the future for these Kids - it will change the World one Child at a time!

 

 

Carla and Kempe's Fostering Healthy Futures Program

 

I was a DU Graduate Student, in the School of Social Work, when I was selected by the kempe Center for an Internship in their Fostering Healthy Futures Program. I was going to be a Mentor to a Child enrolled in this Program that works with 9-11 year olds placed in Foster Care. These were vulnerable Kids, with very Special Needs, and we as "Mentors" would help them learn Life Skills and how to make good choices so they would have a healthier future. In return, I would receive invaluable Training in working with Abused and Neglected Children. So then I met Jake.

 

Jake was 10. He was a tough Kid. Awkward, Volatile, Angry, and just out of control, due to the Abuse he had endured from his Dad who struggled with Drugs ...and was now in Jail. As his Mentor, I would pick him up from his Foster home a couple of times a week and take him out -that's what we as Mentors would do, serve as Role Models and give them the opportunity to experience Life as Children should get to. A lot of times I would have to pull over the side of the road because Jake would throw things or scream at me. So for a while, we had to stop going out. Instead, I would go over to his Foster Home and work with him there. Or at least try to.

 

I showed up twice a week on the same day and at the same time, week after week after week. Gradually Jake got confident enough to expect me, to Believe that I would show up and be there for him.

But being patient with Jake was so hard. I cried after our Visits. He was so Wild and I wasn't having any success at first. I thought that everything I was doing must be wrong.

 

A lot of times Jake would try to get me mad at him -because he was used to that.

Anger was familiar to him. That is what brought him to Kempe,he was so traumatized by the Abuse and at high-risk for continuing Behavioral Problems that he needed help from Kempe's Program. He needed to learn how to handle his difficult Emotions in a healthy way and to learn to cope with Life without triggering Anger - especially at this vulnerable age.

 

When I fist met him and asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he said he didn't know. He couldn't begin to imagine a future for himself. But all those hours sitting with him and being with him, he began to develop Trust. One day he was able to complete one whole Math Worksheet without getting up and acting out.

What a huge Victory!

Gradually longer and longer amounts of time passed when he could control his Emotions and Volatile Behaviors.

Towards the end of our time together in the Program, I took him to the Mountains.

His whole Life, he had lived here, and had never been to the Mountains. So, I took him for a hike. He was having so much fun. But then he said he was tired.

 

I told him we could go back if he wanted, but he got Angry and decided I was trying to control him. I know what upset him. It was being Happy and feeling Loved. It just felt too unfamiliar to him. He threw rocks at me. Then he just cried and cried. That had never happened to him before.

And it was a big breakthrough.

At the end of Kempe's Fostering Health Futures Program, the Kids have a Graduation Ceremony to celebrate their Positive Development and Hard Work in the Program - and he was just so amazing. It was the first time I saw him express Gratitude. For Jake, it took incredible Courage. he actually thanked People and told the other Kids how much he would miss them. And he was so proud. So proud that he was learning to control himself, learning Math, learning to improve.

 

Now he had all these ideas about what he wanted to be when he grew up ... and the Belief that he could accomplish them.

At the end of the Program, Jake hugged me and hugged me. Jake thanked me. Jake expressed Love. He was on his way to a healthier and more hopeful future.

 

After my time at Kempe and after I obtained my Degree, I went into Law School and now am a Family Law Attorney.

My experience as a Mentor helped me understand the Complex Emotions of Maltreated Children and the importance of Early Intervention. It helped me gain confidence that I can help Children build brighter futures and bring Hope to their Lives!

 

I will always carry Jake with me. Always. He brought so much Joy to my Life and made me a stronger Advocate for Children.

 

 

Tessa and Kempe's Postpartum Depression Intervention Program

 

I always wanted to have a Baby. Always. When I found out I was Pregnant, I was so excited. This was just my dream come true. I would watch Baby Shows on TV and when I saw how happy those new Moms were, Tears of Joy would just stream down my face from imagining all the happiness that I was about to experience. But at the same time, I have a touch of Obsessive Compulsive Tendencies, and had suffered a previous Miscarriage, so as my Pregnancy progressed, I started getting...well I guess, a littleParanoid about the Baby not being healthy. An Ultrasound showed that she might have something wrong with her Foot...and then I had Complications from High Blood Pressure and they had to induce.

 

After Trinity was Born, I was just...well it's like I was in shock. I felt really sick. I had a lot of bleeding. I felt awful. And about Trinity......I was just a blank. The Painkillers they gave me were too strong.

And I was having these Irrational Thoughts. Like when the Nurses came to take Trinity for a routine Hearing Test, I was hysterical because I was afraid she was Deaf even though there was no reason to think there was anything wrong with her - not even the problem with her Foot they had suspected in the Ultrasound.

She was perfect. But I couldn't stop crying. I didn't want to let anyone take the Baby out of the room for any reason again because I was afraid she would be switched with another Child.

 

When I got home, things got worse. I couldn't sleep.

I would look at Trinity and think about the overwhelming responsibility of Caring for this Child and that I just couldn't handle it. I couldn't eat. I lost weight.

I knew my Mom had suffered from Postpartum Depression with my Brother a long time ago, but I never thought it would happen to me. I went online to read about Postpartum Depression, and found some Stories about Moms who had harmed their Babies. I became terrified that if I didn't do something to get help I might harm my Baby too. Even though I knew I would never do that. I was afraid that I would.

 

Then one night I had a Panic Attack - I woke up and something was really wrong -- and it wasn't Sleep Deprivation.

I was so scared and knew I needed to find help. The very next morning Grandma and I called Kempe. They had a Postpartum Depression Intervention Program that helped new Moms cope with this Illness and get better.

Kempe was so sweet on the Phone. I found out that Postpartum Depression was a Serious Medical Condition that can affect Women during and after their Pregnancy. I made an appointment to come and see them, but I was so afraid that if I told them the truth about how I was feeling, they would take Trinity away from me. But when I met the Director of Kempe's Program, Dr. Stafford, he was so kind, understanding, and accepting. I felt like I could tell him anything and be safe. I was still scared, but at least I had someone to help me. I started meeting with him once a week at Kempe for Therapy - to talk about my Emotions, learn about my Condition and get the help I needed so I could Care for my Daughter and be happy. He also started some Medication for my Anxiety which was very helpful.

 

It was a Miracle. As soon as I started taking some Medication that horrible Anxiety just went away. But.....at the same time.....I felt like I had no feelings, like I was a failure as a Mom....and what if I did hurt my Baby?

I continued to get help from Kempe and Two Months later I started going to their Postpartum Depression Support Groups for new Moms and their Babies.

At first I was excited to meet other Moms experiencing what I was experiencing. Except it didn't seem like they were, and my feelings of Shame and Fear remained.

It tuned out that each Woman's experience was different. I felt like such a weirdo. I felt alone again. There was one Woman in the Group who was really quiet, but finally one day she talked to me and she told me she had the same kinds of Irrational Feelings that I'd had. Then I began to feel better and less alone, and I started interacting with the other Women and making New Friends.

 

The Therapists at Kempe told me to hold on and that I really would feel much better soon. Kempe's Support Groups provided a Forum for us to share our experiences and promote Positive Interaction with our Babies. And, sure enough I started having a good week in between the bad weeks and things were just improving.

Then Trinity turned One and I felt a lot better. When she was about 14 Months Old, those Irrational Fears about harming her disappeared, and I started feeling like myself, like the Person I am and the Loving Mom I always knew I would be.

 

Thanks to the Doctors, Social Workers and Therapists at Kempe that helped me, I now enjoy my beautiful little Girl. I took a Job at a Bank where my work gives me a break from thinking about my Emotions and then I come home ready to Love and enjoy my wonderful, wonderful Trinity.