Have you ever witnessed a miracle?  For me, the answer depends on how that term is defined.  If we’re talking about turning water into wine or parting a sea, the answer is no.  If, however, miracle is defined as “an extremely outstanding event or accomplishment,” I have, indeed, witnessed a miracle.

The accomplishment involved a graduation ceremony in which the Nebraska Dental College awarded a degree to a young man named Tony.  While such an achievement is certainly praise-worthy, it is not the main idea because the miracle here lies not in the destination, but in the journey.

The journey began when, at age three, Tony and his younger sister were placed in a foster home.  Over the next six years, they were moved to different homes, about once a year.  He recalls some as “wonderful, loving homes, places where we wanted to stay, but never had the choice.”  Others were not so good.

When he was nine Tony and his sister were   adopted-by different families.  Tony was now faced with the prospect of moving in with strangers and losing the close relationship of his sister, the only member of his biological family with whom he still had any contact.  And then it got worse.

While he was in the seventh grade, Tony’s adoptive parents divorced.  A year later his adoptive father died and at the end of his junior year in high school his adoptive mother remarried and moved to another state.  At 17, Tony found himself living alone in a rented basement on a $300 per month Social Security pension with a bicycle and a paper route.

So how does a 17-year-old kid living in those circumstances cut a new path to college and dental school when the path he was put on clearly leads to minimum wage jobs if he is lucky, or public institutions if he isn’t?  When I asked about this, he told me:

“I realized early on that to succeed I had to break away from the idea that I was helpless.  I basically tried to convince myself that I could do anything if I worked hard enough.”

While some who knew of Tony’s situation expected him to quit high school, Tony never doubted that he would finish.  “Quitting was just never an option.  I didn’t entertain much hope of ever going to college, but finishing high school was something I knew I could do.  It was within my power.”

The scope of Tony’s power expanded, significantly, when he won an art scholarship to small college that soon led to a full-tuition scholarship at the Kansas City Art Institute.  After he was “bumped up” to advanced courses and ready to accept a job at Hallmark Cards, his career aspirations suddenly took a new direction.

“I was doing some yard work and odd jobs for this dentist.  Just out the blue, he told me I had great hands and that I ought to think about being a dentist.  At first, I thought he was kidding, but I couldn’t help thinking about it.  I talked to other dentists, talked to counselors, and even wrote a research paper about it.  The more I learned, the more I knew it was for me. The next fall I was in dental college.”

The place was packed four years later when Tony and his classmates gathered to receive their degrees.  Family members cheered and one graduate even got a blast from a concealed air horn.  But it was pretty quiet when Tony’s name was called, at least until the dean announced that he had finished first in the class, with “Highest Distinction,” the only time the Nebraska Dentistry College had ever conferred such an honor.  It brought a standing ovation, polite and respectful, but not really enthusiastic.

Had they only known of his miraculous journey they would still be there, standing and cheering.

Family Promise of Manatee County is a program designed to help families with children who are suffering from homelessness to regain their independence and become self sustaining.  We have two major ways of accomplishing this.  The shelter program, the initial way, works to do this by providing meals, shelter, financial counseling, mentoring, and case management. Family Promise Staff, mentors, community organization professionals, and our most essential and valuable congregational volunteers work together to assist the families in achieving their goals.

Families are screened into the Family Promise program based on developed guidelines. Face to face evaluations and assessments are conducted to determine a family’s eligibility into the program.   Once a family enters the program, every effort is made to connect them with services already present in the community.  They make a trip to the One Stop Center on 17^th Ave. where many different resources are available.  A visit to the Suncoast Workforce Office (Jobs Etc.) begins their search for a job as well as helping them to qualify for other services, especially child care.

Internally, a Case Plan is developed based on the family’s needs that helps to bring together the variety of needs and resources the family needs. The Case Plan progress is monitored regularly, as well as compliance with program policies and procedures. At the end of a family’s 90 day stay in the program, an assessment is completed that evaluates their time spent in the program.   It is always our hope that a family, with hard work and determination, can take the steps that, once again, lead them to being self-sufficient and independent.

Our second program is a Transitional Housing program.  Look for information about this in our next newsletter.

My name is Unique.  I am eight years old.  I have 3 sisters: Dionnie, Kailah, and Kalaylah.  We came to Family Promise with 2 suite [sic] cases and no money.  My mom went to college but she has trouble finding a job.  I’m going to be a pediatrician when I grow up so I can help take care of my sisters.

My mom takes really good care of us, she’s a great mom.  She cries a lot but not so much since we came to Family Promise.

We had some good times in the program and we eat a lot of spaghetti.  My Mom is a nurse now and soon we will have our own house and me and my sisters will have our own room.  Then we can finally call somewhere home thanks to Family Promise.