Patricia Leeds Photography

Success Stories

Elvira

As a new family advocate with Brighter Beginnings, one of my first assignments was with Elvira*. I walked into her apartment four days after the birth of her son.  The space was virtually bare; a few piles of clothing, four brightly colored plates stacked on the kitchen counter, a faded tapestry of the Virgin Mary, and two beds were the only sign that anyone was living here.

Elvira, her long hair neatly plaited, offered to share the little food she had. We sat down, her baby clean and bundled in her arms, and began to talk. She explained that she is living with her mother, and that the child’s father, upon learning she was pregnant, left and has been absent ever since.

I asked her about the tattoo exposed by her tank top, and Elvira explained that it is a gang tattoo. Where she lives, being in a gang is a natural part of life. Now that she is a new mother, she says she is glad to have an excuse to spend less time with the gang.

In the months after this initial visit, Elvira began to bond with her son, but she also started spending more time with her friends who are in the gang. When we started to explore her interests, I discovered that Elvira loves to sing. After she reenrolled in school, I asked if she had thought about joining the school choir. “I don’t really have that much time though…I’ve got other things to do”, she said. I continued to think about it, and whenever I visited, I would bring up her musical talent, offering compliments and encouragement. Last month, I was sitting on her bed and noticed a list hanging on the wall. It was a chart of pros and cons that we had been talking about. Elvira had written on the list “Leaving the gang is a pro because then I could be in the school choir”.

With encouragement, she was able to set priorities for herself, and was finding it possible to pursue them. Through my work, I continue to learn about patience, strength, and hope. My experience with Elvira helped me to realize that social work is not about solving problems. Each and every person we work with has the skills and the passion to solve their own problems, but they need our help. They need positive role models, and they need someone to believe in them - to believe that they can be good parents, and that they can be confident, caring and successful young adults. My work is to nurture this hope among these individuals and their families. My work, our work, is that of hope.

*Name has been changed to protect her identity.