Home Visiting

“I am making these changes for my children”: A Mother’s Love and Resilience

“I am making these changes for my children”: A Mother’s Love and Resilience

As a mother of five children under the age of fourteen, Iris’s peaceful manner is notable. When we meet with Iris and Anahi, her former Family Support Specialist, Iris is composed and put together. Small silver earrings dangle from her ears, and she wears a swath of berry lipstick. Her composure exudes self-confidence and self-knowledge.

But before Iris came to Cope, her confidence was on shakier ground. Iris first learned of Cope through a flyer at a health fair when she was a young mother caring for her children while their father worked to provide for the family. Iris had three daughters at the time, and although she was managing, she knew she needed support. It was with her youngest, at one years old, that Iris entered Cope’s Parents as Teachers Home Visiting Program.

“Now I know where to go”: Catching Up with Guadalupe

“Now I know where to go”: Catching Up with Guadalupe

When Guadalupe first came to Cope Family Center, she was newly single and consumed with anxiety about being a first-time mom. At the time, Guadalupe was being treated by a counselor for anxiety and depression, but her counselor felt she could use additional support. Guadalupe was referred to Cope Family Center, where she enrolled in the Home Visiting Program.

Working with her Home Visitor, Anahi, Guadalupe learned about her daughter’s development, built positive parenting skills, and became more confident in herself as a parent.

Now, seven months after graduating from the program, we caught up with Guadalupe and her daughter, Brisa, to see how they are doing. At almost six years old, Brisa is now in kindergarten, and according to Guadalupe, she is thriving.

Gretel’s commitment to giving her children a better life

Gretel’s commitment to giving her children a better life

Gretel first heard about Cope when she was pregnant with her third child. At the time, she had lost custody of her older children due to her opioid addiction and was living at Rainbow House, a transitional living program for young mothers. She didn’t have a job, or a car, and was feeling alone and helpless. She knew she wanted to make a change, but didn’t know how.

Ashley's Leap of Faith

Ashley's Leap of Faith

When Ashley found Cope Family Center four years ago, she was only a few months sober, pregnant with her third child, single, and new to Napa. “I didn’t know anyone,” she says.

She was leaning into her recovery. A DUI (she now refers to this as “a blessing in disguise”) led to a stint at in-patient rehab, and a decision to take a year off from work to focus on sobriety. She felt lucky to be able to afford it, but at the same time, she wondered, “How are we going to survive?” As a single mom with “a great job” who had “always worked, always been the provider,” Ashley was used to relying on herself to keep her household going. She had faith, and energy, but she also had moments of fear.

Love, Strength, Support: Maria's Power of Three

Love, Strength, Support: Maria's Power of Three

Maria is the mother of three daughters. And even though her middle child, Alejandra, passed away before Maria came to Cope Family Center, Alejandra is one of the main reasons Maria is here.

A year after Alejandra’s death from leukemia at age three, Maria was pregnant with her third daughter. While the whole family looked forward to the new baby, Maria was overwhelmed by a mix of emotions. “I was so happy to be pregnant,” Maria remembers. “But I cried and cried for Alejandra.”