A Full Month of Volunteers

June has been a wonderful month for us at The Social Service Center when it comes to volunteers. 

In the beginning of the month we were lucky enough to have three volunteers from Broad Ripple Martial Arts come in to teach our clients some easy ways to defend themselves.  In the hour and a half self defense seminar we not only learned how and where to hit someone, but more importantly we learned ways to avoid getting into violent situations in the first place (not being alone at night, posture, etc).  What a great activity to be able to offer to our ladies!

Our residents also got to enjoy a beautiful evening out on the playground during Response Church’s Ice Cream Social.  We enjoyed ice cream cones and sundaes, played a few friendly games of volleyball, and had some good conversations. 

Last Saturday, Response helped us get our hands dirty by cleaning out the old Lilly House for us.  The Lilly House was the first shelter built in Indianapolis and is no longer in use.  There were still many pieces of furniture in the House and case files that needed to come out and be stored in the main shelter.  Response knocked it out all in one day!  A big thanks to everyone who volunteered - we couldn’t have done it without them!

We are always looking to enhance our programs with volunteers.  If you are interested contact Julia Sipes at 317-224-1067 or julia_sipes@usc.salvationarmy.org. 

 

A New Life

F came to the shelter to escape her abusive boyfriend and the father of her children.  It was the second time he had hurt her.  After the police were called and he was arrested, she decided to come to the shelter.  With her two young children, and a third on the way, F and her children left her apartment with only the clothes on their backs. 

Scared and alone, with no social supports in the area, F struggled to get through each day.  While trying to balance her full time work schedule, transporting her children to daycare with no means of transportation, and finding new housing, she was struggling with two heavy decisions.  One was whether to stay in the area or to relocate to northern Indiana, where her biological mother and brother lived, though she had never met her mother.  The other decision weighing on her was what to do with her third child.  F was against adoption because she didn’t want to put a child through the process of an adoptive family, as she had gone through it herself.  She was already struggling financially and wasn’t sure how she could manage three children by herself.

Through the social support she found at the shelter, F found courage to move through each day with her head up.  Through a bunch of bus tickets and rides from coworkers, and amazing time management, she was able to maintain her full time work schedule and get her children to daycare.  F was determined to make it on her own. 

And she did.  F decided to keep her third child and found appropriate housing, closer to her job and daycare than her previous residence.  She decided to contact her mother and open the lines of communication and is now working on getting her GED.