Pathfinders Success Stories

For over 30 years, The Counseling Center of Milwaukee (TCCM) has offered bridges to healthy futures for at-risk young people. Pathfinders, one of our leading initiatives, aims to improve the lives - and futures - of runaway and homeless youth. The program is Milwaukee's oldest and most comprehensive service to runaway and homeless youth, serving more than 4,000 youth in 2002. Since its inception, Pathfinders has helped over 30,000 young people in their efforts to live lives of hope and promise. We offer a comprehensive range of care, including emergency shelter, counseling, case management, and prevention services. All our efforts focus on safety, health, and family stability. Pathfinders is widely recognized as effective in preventing the many complications which runaway and homeless youth can suffer, including pregnancy and early parenting; drug and alcohol abuse; poor school performance; self-mutilation; suicide; and significant social-emotional problems.


Rufus - Shelter Services

Rufus is a 16 year old white male who initially accessed TCCM’s Pathfinders non-residential counseling. Rufus was from a single parent family and had not attended school for 190 consecutive days in the 2001-2002 school year. His mother and siblings had become increasingly frustrated with Rufus and realized their need for counseling and eventually respite from the escalating conflict in the home. Rufus clearly had minimal social interaction skills, would not make eye contact when conversing with family, peers and other adults and had very poor personal hygiene. Following a month of nonresident therapy, Rufus became a resident in the shelter for 2-weeks in order to give his mother and siblings and break from the conflict in the home and an opportunity to begin more intensive family therapy. 7 months have passed since Rufus first accessed the services of Pathfinders. Rufus has only missed 1 day of classes due to illness in the first 2 ½ months of the current school year, has greatly improved his social interaction skills and personal hygiene and is currently a volunteer peer providing program assistance to shelter staff and peer support for youth staying at Pathfinders shelter. Rufus engages well with youth staying in the shelter and his mother reports that the dynamics and communication within the family home environment is greatly improved.


Ryan - Street Outreach

Ryan is a 15 year-old African American male that has been working with the Pathfinders’ Street Beat outreach team for the past 11 months. Ryan has custody of his 2-1/2 month old son. The outreach team first contacted Ryan at a North side roving outreach site. Ryan’s mother was reportedly a crack addict and a prostitute, his step father was in the Waupun Correctional Institution, and his older brother was in the Kettle Moraine Correctional Institution. Ryan had few, if any, positive and affirming role models in his life. In the past 7 months Ryan has returned to school, secured full-time employment at a church as an assistant custodian, and has ceased smoking marijuana. All of these positive behavior changes can be attributed to the assistance and intervention of the outreach team and Ryan’s own internal motivation to improve his life and the future of his young son. The outreach team is in weekly contact with Ryan and is assisting and supporting him in sustaining a secure and stable home for him and his son.

Hand-in-Hand Client Stories

Client Name: Lena (not her real name)

• Lena is a 14 year old female.
• Lena was sexually abused 2 years prior to entering program.
• Issues Lena had when entering the program were that she had daily fights with her mother. She also was very angry at her family. There even was an incident where she attempted to stab her brother.
• Lena received group, individual and family counseling while in the
  Hand-in-Hand Program.

Lena has made the following changes while in the program.

• Lena began to talk about her anger and developed skills to cope with her anger.
• Lena shared many details of her sexual assault while in group counseling. Lena said that sharing her story helped her deal with the sexual abuse.
• Currently, Lena’s relationship with her family is much less hostile and they are communicating.
• Parent has praised the Hand-in-Hand Program because of the many positive changes in Lena.
   

Client Name: Adam (not his real name)

• Adam is a 7 year old male.
• Adam was sexually abused by his cousin.
• Issues Adam had when entering the program were:
  • He was acting out sexual behavior and mannerisms.
  • He was failing the 2nd grade.
  • Adam was reading at a Kindergarten grade level.
  • He had extreme misbehavior in the classroom.
  • He was fighting with his younger brother.

 Adam has received group, individual and family therapy in the Hand-in-Hand Program.

• We have seen the following changes in Adam.
  • Adam has stopped acting out sexual behavior and mannerisms.
  • Adam is passing to 3rd grade.
  • Adam is reading at a 3rd grade level.
  • Adam’s teacher now describes him as her "star pupil."
  • Adam’s relationships with his family are improved.

Client Name: Claudia (not her real name)

• Claudia is a 10 year old female
• Claudia was sexually abused by her cousin’s friend.
• Issues Claudia had when entering the program were:
  • She had nightmares every night and needed to be consoled by her mother.
  • She had problems with her grades at school.
  • Claudia had a fear of going outside, (she was afraid that the perpetrator would come get her).
  • She made threats to do harm herself.

Claudia has received group, individual and family therapy in the Hand-in-Hand Program.

• We have seen the following changes in Claudia.
  • Claudia’s nightmares have stopped.
  • Claudia has improved her grades at school.
  • Claudia no longer fears going outside.
  • Claudia has said that she feels better about herself and that she is not as angry anymore.
  • She currently enjoys playing sports.

Counseling and Group Program

For over 30 years, The Counseling Center of Milwaukee (TCCM) has offered bridges to healthy futures for at-risk children, adults and families facing crises which threaten to unravel their lives. TCCM’s Counseling and Group Program, one of our leading initiatives, aims to improve the lives and futures of neighbors in need throughout Greater Milwaukee. The program is one of Milwaukee's foremost community mental health programs, serving more than 2,500 in 2002. Since its inception, Counseling and Group Program has helped over 20,000 individuals and families in their efforts to live lives of hope and promise.

We offer a comprehensive range of care, including individual, family, and group counseling, as well as prevention services. TCCM’s approach focuses on resolving problems (such as anxiety and depression), building support, and improving functioning at work and school. Our Counseling and Group Program is especially equipped to address the needs of those who cannot find help elsewhere, including victims of sexual and physical abuse, the seriously mentally ill, and the LGB community. TCCM is a leader among Milwaukee’s few organizations able to serve individuals and families without adequate financial resources.

TCCM is committed to addressing issues before they become life threatening problems. Consequently, we also offer a variety of prevention services. The Women to Women HIV prevention initiative reaches out to over 1,800 women of color annually in our community who are at very high risk of infection due to homelessness, drug abuse, and poverty. Trained peers educate participants and support their healthy decision making. The overwhelming majority of Women to Women staff are former program participants.


Cathy and Jason
A Story of Renewal and Hope

Cathy is 32 year old single mother of Jason (10 years old). Jason’s father (a former drug dealer) is not involved with his son. In fact, Cathy and her son don’t know where he is. Cathy and Jason recently moved into their own apartment.

Cathy was released from jail 6 months ago, after serving 2 ½ years for drug possession. While in jail, Cathy began her recovery from drugs and alcohol and lost 100 pounds. Cathy grew up in a home where her mother and father both abused drugs. There is also an extensive history of depression on Cathy’s maternal side of the family. Her upbringing lacked nurturance nor did she have positive role models for effective parenting. As an adult, Cathy had a series of abusive relationships and abused drugs, as did her brother.

Upon leaving jail, Cathy moved in with her mother (50 years old) and brother (30 years old) who both continue to abuse drugs. Jason had already been living with his grandmother and uncle while Cathy was in jail. Cathy described the transition from jail to her mother’s home as rough. She found herself torn between her own needs and the needs of her son. Having experienced his mother mostly high prior to going to jail, Jason was extremely anxious, especially when his mother was anywhere outside the home. Before his mother went to jail, she spent long hours in her bedroom "sleeping". Jason’s upbringing began to experience the same lack of nurturance that Cathy grew up with. Jason learned to take care of himself the best he could.

One of the initial challenges the family faced was Cathy’s impatience with Jason’s neediness and anxiety. When separated from his mother, Jason would phone her several times, his panic escalating with each frantic call. Cathy found this irritating and instead of reassuring him, she heightened his anxiety by not soothing him. Since they began family therapy, both mother and son received support for the challenging transition they both found themselves in. They were able to see this as a normal process given their life situation. By learning some helpful parenting skills and using cognitive behavioral techniques, Cathy learned how to tolerate her son’s feelings and Jason learned how to reduce his anxiety when he began to feel it.

Cathy got a job, saved enough money to get their own apartment and moved out of her mother’s home. She continues to work, has remained sober, and has had no more legal problems. Cathy and Jason have begun to spend time together. Recently, they began to work out together. Cathy has begun to be very involved in Jason’s school and recently helped supervise a field trip. Jason’s anxiety has decreased but he is still having difficulties in school. Cathy is learning more effective parenting skills and is in a better position to help her son with his school problems.

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