ECS News
Posted Thursday, July 03, 2008
ECS Beacon: The Extra Mile
Sometimes, it is necessary to go the extra mile to help a family overcome the impact of poverty. Anna, the mother of a child at the ECS Beacon Center in the Feltonville section of Philadelphia, is a perfect example.
In 2006, Anna, 31, had enrolled in the twilight program of her old high school, Edison/Fareira, to finally earn her diploma. One thing stood in her way, however. She needed a place to take her son, Angel, 7, and the local after-school programs all opened their doors after she was due in class herself. To complicate things further, Angel suffers from a rare childhood disease that could trigger a stroke if he is too physically active, so he needs extra supervision. Anna called program after program, but none could accommodate her schedule and her son’s condition.
“He has special needs. I couldn’t leave him with just anybody,” Anna said. “The door just kept slamming me in the face. When I left my message at the Beacon, it was my last hope. I said I pray to God that you call me back.”
Patricia Harris, program director of the ECS Beacon, did call Anna back, and worked with her staff to find a way to accommodate Anna’s schedule. Because the ECS Beacon’s youth development model engages older students as workers and leaders in the program, Harris was able to assign a teen mentor to work one-on-one with Angel to make sure his health and safety were protected.
“I could hear the desperation in her voice, and I just knew we had to help her,” said Harris. “She had managed so much already, I knew she was someone special.”
Along the way, the supportive environment of the ECS Beacon, which works to involve parents in their children’s education, was essential to helping Anna find the strength to continue. It hasn’t been easy. In the space of a year, Anna lost her job as a pharmacy technician due to a corporate merger and was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.
When Angel began exhibiting some behavioral problems associated with these events, as well as his own condition and the death of his father a few years ago, Beacon staff helped Anna find ways to talk to her son and ease his worries.
“I had a lot of people helping me. I had the Beacon on my side. I had St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, my own doctors, and the teachers at the twilight program at Edison High,” Anna said. “There were plenty of times I was ready to give up, but nobody let me. They became my family.”
Last month, Anna’s hard work paid off when she graduated from high school, 15 years after problems at home had forced her to drop out. As she prepared for her graduation, ECS stepped in one more time to help.
Anna’s relatives had planned to buy her a class ring to celebrate the many trials she endured in order to finally earn her diploma, but emergency roof repairs came first. Utilizing gift cards collected during the Christmas season, Kristin Webb, ECSvs manager of volunteer services and gifts in kind, was able help the ECS Beacon staff surprise Anna with the gift of a 2008 class ring.
“This isn’t the kind of thing that could have come out of the ECS budget, but it is the kind of program enhancement that the gift in kind program is all about,” Webb said. “Thanks to the many supporters who chose to use gift cards as a way to help us buy presents for ECS clients both at Christmas and throughout the year, we were able to make a special gift to a very special parent.”
With her diploma in hand, Anna plans to continue her education at a technical school to pursue a career in medicine. One of her doctors, having witnessed the level of care she provides to Angel, has even promised her a job when she finishes the program.
“I was determined to finish high school and I did it,” Anna said. “I want more for my son. I’m all he has.”
Because the ECS Beacon was able to provide after school care for Angel, right, his mother, Anna, was able to graduate from high school at age 31.