When Annie, with two small children, first came to her Family and School Service group, she was recently separated and had no job. She attended the program to relieve some stress and have at least one night when she didn’t have to cook.

The first night, Annie looked weary as she walked into the room. She could hardly stay focused as she tried to keep track of her energetic children. When it was time for dinner, a look of distress came over her face like she wouldn’t be able to handle the task of getting her kids a plate of food. Then we explained that the children served their parents dinner with the help of the FAST staff, and she relaxed a little. Immediately after dinner, we took her toddler, John, to the playroom. He kicked and screamed as we detached him from Annie but she was willing to let him go.

For the next half hour or so, she was able to enjoy games with her daughter, Megan, without the stress of chasing her son around the room. It was easy to tell that she was relieved to have some quality time with her daughter. Megan beamed and chatted up a storm as she played with her mom.

During parent group, the first night is awkward, as the parents don’t know each other and are skeptical of sharing their problems with a group of strangers. Annie led a unique group that night. She told of her husband leaving her and how isolated and lost she felt without him. The other parents came to her aid immediately, offering support and kind words – even their phone numbers. Several other mothers in the room had been through similar experiences and offered their stories to the group.

At the end of the night, Annie hugged the therapist and thanked him for such a fantastic program. She then thanked everyone else on the team for allowing her to be part of the night, as she followed her gregarious son around the room.

By the end of the eight weeks, Annie was a different person. She was confident, felt less stressed and smiled all the time. On the last night, she told the school-parent liaison, “I never would have survived my divorce without this. Thank you so much for inviting me.”

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