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Faith & Robert's Story
Faith and Robert are the proud grandparents of fifteen children. They legally adopted their four youngest grandchildren when they witnessed the dire conditions in which they were living. These four grandchildren were born with drug addictions, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Feeling nervous and stressed due to the many challenges their grandchildren faced, Faith and Robert turned to the Monterey County Children’s Screening Team for Assessment Referral and Treatment (MCSTART) for help. There they received a spectrum of services including assessments, Monterey County Children’s Behavioral Health counseling, case management, and referrals to other services such as dental services.
Because of counseling and support services, Faith describes many positive changes in her life. “I’m not nervous like before.” She goes on to say, “I’m learning how to express myself better, how to talk to [my grandchild] better, and how to not use my temper because I don’t understand what is going on in [their] heads. I see a big change in that and I feel more at ease with my kids because I can understand them.”
She has also noticed improvements in the behavior of her grandchildren, especially in her five year-old granddaughter Grace. Faith describes that, before participating in MCSTART, Grace would “throw big gigantic fit[s]” when Faith left the house. Now she says, “It’s okay mommy, you can go. I’ll stay home and you can go.”
Faith notes that without the programs her grandchildren would likely be placed in the foster care system and would face many emotional challenges. She feels thankful and explains “my life is full, [my grandchildren] are happy, and they are together. They are not separated because they would’ve gotten separated if I didn’t take them.”