Empowering Families: Natalia's Story of Resilience and Renewal
From The Next Door Inc.:
By Jordan Flores
The Dalles Ore. April 1, 2024 — Natalia’s life was on track to becoming everything she’d hoped for. She was happily married, living in Hood River with her new husband and kids, and had another baby on the way. Little did she know, her entire world would soon come crashing down around her.
After a domestic incident, all of Natalia’s children, except for her newborn, were taken away by Child Protective Services, and her husband was removed from the home. Natalia became a single parent overnight and was left to pick up the pieces alone. Wanting nothing more than for her family to be whole again, she reached out to The Next Door Inc.’s (TNDI) Family Services team for help.
Jenny, a home visitor at TNDI, began working with Natalia every week for the next 4 years. During their visits, they set goals together and Jenny empowered Natalia to achieve them by helping connect her with other supportive resources at TNDI. She also taught Natalia positive parenting skills, providing information on baby care and close bonding. When something didn’t work, Jenny was flexible in finding an alternative that did.
By the time she graduated from the program, Natalia realized who she was at her core. For the first time in years, she felt welcome to be herself. With Jenny’s guidance and integrity, Natalia flourished as an entrepreneur and started her own business, working tirelessly to resolve her court case in hopes of having her family together again.
All of Natalia and Jenny’s hard work together paid off in the end. Natalia’s children and husband have returned home and are thriving. Her business is booming, allowing Natalia to build a beautiful new house in Mexico for herself. She even calls Jenny with regular life updates and, occasionally, the pair meets for lunch.
Without Jenny and TNDI’s Healthy Families program, there’s no telling who or where Natalia would be. To this day, she expresses her appreciation for the home visits and Jenny’s empathy as she walked the journey alongside her. Jenny, too, never misses an opportunity to celebrate Natalia and praise her for how far she’s come.
Join us in creating a community where all children and families are safe, healthy, and valued. Now through June 30th, your gift will be matched up to $25,000! Visit https://www.nextdoorinc.org/donate/ to double your impact today!
The Next Door Inc. (TNDI), the largest social service agency in the Gorge, was founded in 1971 to address the unmet need of support services for youth. Today, TNDI’s employees facilitate over 35 programs that strive to fulfill our mission of opening doors to new possibilities by strengthening children and families and improving communities in Oregon and Washington. For more information, please visit https://nextdoorinc.org/
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