Our Impact

"I think I need to share a little bit of my backstory to be able to share how much Hand in Hand has helped me.

I am a mother of two, a fifteen year old boy and a 2 1/2 year old little girl. My daughter, Theo, was very much a surprise at 34 years old. I spent my pregnancy alone, and after she was born, found out that I would be raising her alone as well. My family lives a fair distance away and I don't have much for friends, as I have always spent most of my time working on a career and trying to better the lives of my children... So, I VERY much am raising my daughter alone. When she was 6 weeks old, I took the recommendation of a coworker and put her in her first daycare. She did well at first... But when it came to her hitting her milestones, she started to fall behind. When she failed to crawl at the typical age (and still now) her daycare had refused to move her up to the next age appropriate room. This resulted in her staying in the baby room, and that's when the issues began. I would get phone calls that she cried all day everyday. When I picked her up, she seemed exhausted and terrified. When I would drop her off in the mornings, I felt as though I needed to have an excuse as to why she wasn't crawling or progressing like the other children. They only fed her what they were feeding 9 month old babies, when at this point she was 1 1/2 years old. The staff were rude and cold and treated me, and her, like a nuisance. As a mother, I was starting to become increasingly aware of her delays and began to worry. You can only tell yourself that kids learn at their own pace so many times before you have to admit that something is wrong.

One day, I received a phone call from the receptionist telling me that the director wanted to meet with me about Theo. When I met her, I was told that Theo was too much of a hassle and was a disruption to the other kids and the staff. I felt awful. She was the sweetest little girl to everyone around her and I just couldn't understand what was happening.

Finding a daycare with a spot for your child is nearly impossible. At this point, Theo had been going to physical therapy and they suggested Hand in Hand.

I remember calling Kayla and info bombing her with everything that was happening, especially with the emotional acceptance and roller-coaster of beginning the journey of finding out that your child is different. She listened to every word and shared the story of her son and her journey.

The first day I dropped Theo off at Hand in Hand, I cried. I apologized to Wendy (her room teacher)and told her I was so traumatized from the previous daycare that I did NOT want to leave her. I was terrified she would be treated cold, different, ignored. I did not trust ANYBODY else to have her at this point. Wendy teared up and assured me she would be fine. She sent me pictures throughout the day to let me know she was doing great. I cried all day.

She has been at Hand in Hand for almost a year and I cannot express how important this place is for her and for me. Everyone treats us with so much warmth. You can tell they truly love her. She has recently been diagnosed with intelligence disability and epilepsy with more to come, and Hand in Hand has been such a support every step of the way. They accommodate everything she needs. They work with her therapists and care for her so that she can be the best she can be.

It has ALWAYS been Theo and mommy, mommy and Theo. But I can truly say I am so blessed to bewelcomed into this family and to have Hand-in-Hand truly be there to raise her with me."