Stories Archives
Meet Duke
He was born prematurely at just 25 weeks, weighing 1 lb 15 oz at birth. During his 5-month stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Duke experienced a severe brain bleed and underwent several operations to treat a variety of complications. When Duke’s mother, Brea, brought him home for the first time, she felt isolated…
Jack and Michael’s Story
Newly retired Mike was just getting used to the idea of a slower paced life, and Carrie was excited to start working at a new job. They had just committed to being live-in caregivers for Carrie’s aging parents and were settling into their new routine. Suddenly, Mike and Carrie found their entire world turned upside…
Richardson Family Story
Life was just getting started for newlyweds Bryan and Brianna. They were settling comfortably into their new routines as a married couple, and Brianna was busy getting acquainted with her new job. When they were asked to take their one year old nephew, Cassius, into their home, the decision to say yes came easily to…
Herrington Family Story
Angela and her husband were excitedly preparing for the birth of their daughter, Maeve. Following a typical pregnancy, Maeve came into the world with a surprise diagnosis of epidermolysis bullosa (EB). From that moment, Angela was told that she would be Maeve’s expert when it came to caring for her condition. This meant a rigorous…
Yo Sé La Verdad
Three young siblings play in front of a Tacoma elementary school, climbing on a low wall and posing for photos. They smile, laugh, run around, and hug their mom. People passing by would have no indicators of the hardships Olga and her children have overcome to get where they are today. Olga met her ex-boyfriend…
I Choose
Sometimes your best friend becomes your worst enemy. Food began as Bri’s friend. It extended its welcoming embrace, sheltering her from all of her troubles. It was there for her after she was sexually abused by her father. It was there for her while she watched her mother battle with deep depression. It was there…
I AM MINE
Alexander suffered extensive trauma from a very young age. When he was sixteen Alex was adopted and moved to Tacoma. Despite the difficulties he was going through he reached out to his friends and was recommended to go to The Rainbow Center for their transgender support groups. This is where he met HopeSparks’ therapist Morgan…
I Found the Light
Nakita and her six year old son, Aziah, haven’t had it easy the last few years. Fleeing domestic violence left them feeling unsafe and not sure where to turn. Aziah began suffering from PTSD due to things he had seen in his home prior to leaving the domestic violence behind. He began having nightmares and…
I See My Beauty
Lauryn had always struggled with seeing her worth. Anxiety and obsessive-compulsive tendencies dominated her thinking, and therefore, her life. She was able to keep things more or less under control until her best friend committed suicide. “Every mental issue I had became exacerbated tenfold. I started sleeping whenever I wasn’t at work, and taking pills…
We Got Through
Can you imagine trying to navigate the challenges of parenthood without the pivotal tool of communication? Keri never considered that communicating with her young daughter Aubrey could be so difficult. With Aubrey at the age of two, they still had no method for sharing information or feelings and Keri began to panic. “I couldn’t ask…
I Found My True North
Chloe became a mom at 17 years old. She vowed at that time to break the intergenerational cycles of abuse and neglect that have plagued her family for many years. It hasn’t been a straight path. It hasn’t been an easy journey. But Chloe has pressed on and and found strength in knowing she doesn’t…
I Found Strength
“Take a deep breath, let it go, and move forward” has become Chris’ motto. She even has a plaque on her desk at work to remind her of this every day. Finding the strength to live out her motto has been the hard part. Chris first came to HopeSparks in 2012 to seek out counseling for…
I Found Hope
At her low point, Amy found herself homeless and not able to parent her children. “I had mental health problems my whole life and never took care of myself. It took losing my children and going through total hell to bring me back.” Amy recognizes that the biggest challenge hasn’t been to stay clean. It…
I Am Enough
Meygan’s life has been anything but easy. She spent a lot of her childhood with her family fractured – her brother was living with her grandmother, she and her sister were living with their father, and her mom was not in her life for a while. In the fall of 2015, Meygan came to HopeSparks.…
I Found My Wings
As a young girl, Lucy loved to draw dragons and run around dressed up like them. At 16, she’s found herself face to face with a different kind of beast: a deadly eating disorder that she’s nicknamed “Ed.” Lucy was hospitalized in March. She weighed under 80 pounds, her pulse had slowed to 40 beats…
We Are Strong
Jack came into the world at just 28 weeks gestation, and after a long 3 month stay in the neonatal intensive care unit, he came home with an NG feeding tube. Jack’s parents, Zephyr and Brian, felt helpless as Jack vomited often, choked on the feeding tube, and had to be held down to put…
I Am Determined
As a single mom, Charity often found herself stressed out and overwhelmed with taking care of her three kids. When she started getting phone calls from her daughter Emily’s school about disruptive behavior, she felt torn between needing to be at work so she could pay the bills and needing to pick Emily up from…
I Am Worthy
When Chloe entered high school and started feeling concerned about her weight, she decided to make some changes to what she was eating. She saw the weight loss results she desired, and found herself feeling more and more preoccupied with food. With the loss of her Grandfather shortly after school started, Chloe felt more anxious…
We’ve Gained Strength
It was an ordinary Tuesday when Mary and Michelle got a phone call from Mary’s son asking them to drop everything and pick up their grandchildren from Child Protective Services in Las Vegas. Mary had been preparing for her first day at a new job, and together, she and Michelle have been planning for the…
Love Makes A Family
Ashley and her husband, Aaron, were excited to grow their family by opening their hearts and their home as a fictive family placement for Shelby, who needed a temporary home. Foster care felt like a perfect way to complete their family with more children. It wasn’t long before Ashley started having concerns about Shelby’s development…
Jack’s Story
Newly retired Mike was just getting used to the idea of a slower paced life, and Carrie was excited to start working at a new job. They had just committed to being live-in caregivers for Carrie’s aging parents and were settling into their new routine. Suddenly, Mike and Carrie found their entire world turned upside…