one child's story...

Kimberly was three years old when her brother and her uncle began molesting her. When she was 12, she told her parents about the abuse, hoping they would stop it. Their reaction was quite different. Kimberly was beaten and accused of being a "whore".

When Kimberly turned 14 she ran away from home and was soon married. Married to a man that beat her on a daily basis. By the time she finally left her abusive husband at age 18, Kimberly was clinically depressed and abusing alcohol.

She soon remarried to a man who did not beat her, but was emotionally abusive and distant. Kimberly had two children by her second husband. She was so depressed by that time, however, that she confided to her doctor that she couldn't even care for her children. This caring doctor referred Kimberly to the Parent Child Center.

Kimberly came in for her intake appointment, anxious for help. She was enrolled in the Nurturing Parenting Program. This 15-week class with weekly homework assignments teaches parents how to improve their parenting skills and learn to nurture their children, helping them to develop into a brighter future.

Kimberly was very successful in the program, and every week her self-confidence grew and she now knows how to care for her children, whom she loves very much. She has also addressed her past in therapy and is slowly learning that it was not her fault.

That is why the Parent Child Center is here - to strengthen families.