Supporting Families: Nanci's journey of hope led to positive changes for her entire family
Nanci is the mother of three young children and has been married to her husband for 13 years. After her son’s accident that left him hospitalized for six months and the unexpected death of her brother, she found herself struggling emotionally, having difficulty parenting, and needing a supportive community. In 2022, she began participating in the Parent Café through Catholic Charities and said the program “saved my life.” Today, Nanci volunteers with the Parent Café team of hosts and leads to help other women like herself.
“I fell in love with what mothers like me could do to support other moms, and I said to myself, ‘This is what I need in my life,’” she explains. “Our family is stronger now. I am a better mother. I can understand my children and their needs better, especially with my daughter, who is five years old and has behavior problems.”
The Parent Café is one of many services operated through Catholic Charities Franklin-McKinley Children’s Initiative, a cradle-to-career collaborative of more than 30 partner service providers offering programming in and around the Santee neighborhood of San Jose. Nanci has become involved with additional Catholic Charities programs, including the Family Resource Center, and helping with the senior group, youth programs, summer meals, and neighborhood events. She praises the staff who give guidance and have “become like family.”
The goal of the Parent Café is to create a safe and relaxed environment where parents can engage in a rich roundtable conversation with other parents facing similar challenges, joys, and questions around the Five Protective Factors: parental resilience, social connections, knowledge of parenting and child development, concrete support in times of need, and social and emotional competence of children. The program has a peer-to-peer learning process that promotes individual self-reflection.
Nanci says, “It reminded me that I am a valuable person, and I am here for a reason. Every time I’ve been in each Parent Café, my soul is healed.”
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At Catholic Charities sites around the county, we are offering families more than just a one-time, single service. Our goal is to provide families a path to achieve economic mobility and tools to help left themselves out of poverty. And we are with them on their journeys every step of the way.
