Empowering Community for Positive Change
John’s Story
John is a monolingual Chinese-speaking single father of an elementary school-age son. He heard about APA through another agency and walked in seeking services. John felt hopeless as his wife left him and took all their savings. He needed help financially as he was on a fixed income for his disability. Our Case Manager provided emotional support to John and guided him to apply for public assistance benefits. The Case Manager also provided housing resources as John was having trouble paying his rent and wanted a more affordable option. APA was able to purchase clothing for the child as he didn’t have appropriate clothing for the winter. John is now receiving public assistance benefits, is seeking counseling to help deal with his emotions, and is working on providing his child with a stable life.
Jane’s Story
Jane is a monolingual Chinese-speaking single mother of 2 teenage girls. Jane was referred for DR services because the eldest (Jamie) was having difficulty communicating with her mom. Jamie has some mental health issues and feels her mom doesn’t understand. Jamie was hospitalized more than four times for suicidal ideations within the year. Our Case Manager provided emotional support to Jane and collaborated closely with the doctor, therapists, and school counselors. Our Case Manager also helped with translation so the mom could understand what was going on with her child. Mom is motivated to make changes and to understand how to help Jamie. Jamie is connected with counseling and is on medication. She is looking forward to transferring to a new school and possibly getting an after-school job.
Responsive Case Management Helped Keep This Family Together
On a Thursday evening, HSA (Human Services Agency) referred a family with a single mom and 17-year-old twin daughters to us as Differential Response clients. A CFT (Child and Family Team) Meeting was set for 4 pm the next day. This case was immediately assigned to a Case Manager because it was crucial for the family to build rapport with her as quickly as possible. As this case had already been substantiated, we knew that if another situation like this happens again, both daughters would be removed from the mom.
With such short notice, this Case Manager had to cancel her prior commitments. She made it a priority to be at the CFT meeting since HSA’s PSW (Protective Service/Social Worker) mentioned that the mom is not the most open or agreeable person. So a warm hand off was vital for this family.
Our Case Manager tried really hard to engage the family, and made sure they understand her role in this situation. The family seemed very grateful to have extra resources and signed the consent forms.
In a short time period, our Case Manager successfully mediated the conversations between the mom and daughters. Mom was having a very hard time hearing/understanding her daughter’s needs. She would just resort to screaming and hitting, which is what had resulted in the child being taken by CPS (Child Protection Services) to an ER room. In just two weeks, mom is now able to have genuine, real conversations with her daughters. Case Manager taught the girls and mom the different types of communication styles (i.e. Passive, Assertive, Aggressive, and Passive Aggressive.) She also helped them develop home rules, and had the girls come up with the logical consequences. Working on these two “strategies” helped mom and daughters get on the same page.
We are happy to have played a role in strengthening this family. They now have techniques to avoid getting physical during disagreements, and the girls can get their needs across to mom without being disrespectful, which will in turn keep this family united. As providers we need to be flexible with our workplans to ensure success in our case management.
Support and Assistant to Josephine to Start a New Life
Josephine came to San Francisco with her baby in 2017 to reunite with her husband, Tim. They lived in an SRO (single room occupancy) building, Josephine would stay in their small room to care for their baby while Tim worked. He took care of all the expenses and didn’t give Josephine any spending money. Not long after Josephine's arrival, Tim started verbally abusing her. He would even get physical at times.
One day, Tim suddenly ordered Josephine to move out. Being all alone with no family members in the U.S., Josephine didn’t know where or who to turn to for help. In her despair, she recalled having heard about APA Family Support Services and came to our office to seek help.
APA's case manager provided Josephine with emotional support and community resources. She didn’t want to stay in a shelter with her baby. For a temporary solution, she was able to stay with her in-laws. They pleaded with Tim, and soon she was allowed to go back. As a precautionary measure, our case manager did a safety plan with Josephine.
However things only got worse when they moved back to the SRO. Tim would prevent her and the baby from sleeping at night and threw things at her when he became angry. An incident led to Josephine calling the police and Tim was arrested.
Our case manager then connected Josephine with legal resources; also provided assistance and support by accompanying her to the many court hearings dealing with restraining order, divorce, and child custody, and escorting her to mediation. To her credit, Josephine was motivated to be self-sufficient. She attended school to learn English and found a part time job. Her baby was approved for subsidized childcare and is thriving.
Regain Child Custody
One day, Mrs. Ming came to the APA Family Support Center with bruises on her face. Her husband had abused her and their two-year-old son the night before. Mr. and Mrs. Ming were married for two years and the domestic violence was never reported because she was too scared. When she tried to make a 911 call, he pulled the telephone cord out of the wall and threatened to beat her again if she called the police. She sobbed in our office as she described her husband's treatment towards her and her son. The APA social worker immediately sent her to the emergency room for treatment and a home visitor went with her.
Returning home, she discovered her husband had left and taken their child. APA contacted the District Attorney's office, filed a report with Child Protective Service and worked diligently until the child was located. She and her child moved to a women's shelter until things settle down. Mrs. Ming got a divorce and child custody. Our home visitor assisted with her multiple needs, including translation services during legal procedures, child care referrals, and of course, emotional support and guidance.
Now Mrs. Ming is working and living in an affordable housing unit with her teenage son. She occasionally calls our API Hotline for support and volunteers at APA events when she finds time.
