“When I first met Sharon she was in crisis mode,” says Soraya Avalos, her therapist at Child & Family Center. “She was leaving her parent’s home without permission, staying out late, and her drug use had escalated to methamphetamine.”

In 2011, everything changed. “I was so depressed I thought I’d never be able to get better, but when I got pregnant, I knew I had to change,” she says. “I couldn’t pass the substances onto my baby.”

Avalos helped Sharon identify the triggers that would lead her to cutting, aggression, and drug use. They worked on coping skills to improve her negative self-image and feelings of hopelessness.

“My homework assignments were things like meditation and certain kinds of breathing techniques,” she says. “I learned to form safe relationships, starting with my own family. I didn’t let them come into my life in a negative way.”

Sharon, now 21, eventually graduated from high school and is enrolled in college.  Sharon acknowledges that the help she received changed her life.

“If I didn’t have the counseling I would have stayed in the same circle of nothing,” she says.

In the depths of her depression before seeking help, Sharon wrote a poem where she cried out for help.

Unorganized, tired, upset and angry.
Wanting to fight, punch, scream, scratch and pull.
I wanna run and not care. Hide and not be found.
Hold with fear and never let go. Be loved with no conditions or boundaries.

I don’t wanna ask for what I want, I just want them to know.
Read me, understand me and acknowledge my existence.
Pull me from my thought and help me get back into pieces.
Let’s put this puzzle back. Take away my anxiety.

Leave a smile in my face and keep it there forever.
Please just help me, but I don’t dare to ask.

Her plea was answered by a dedicated team of behavioral health specialists, and all because she had the courage to ask for help.
Today I’m reaching out to you for your help.

Individual contributions have helped make Child & Family Center the leading mental health care provider for children and their families in Santa Clarita, and we are so grateful to you for supporting our committed team of therapists.
Thanks to you, we’ve touched the lives of thousands – whether they faced an urgent need or sought to improve their quality of life. We exist to serve you and our community – to provide hope, healing and recovery. Please help us continue to make this possible.
Your contribution will make a world of difference.  I promise you.

Gratefully,

Lois Bauccio
President / Executive Director
Child & Family Center Foundation

Please click here to make your online donation, or send to:
Child & Family Center Foundation

21545 Centre Pointe Parkway
Santa Clarita, CA 91350