We’re always pleased to share our client’s journeys with you. Here’s Adam’s Story:
When Adam was eight-years-old his family fell apart as his father left to start a new family and disappeared from Adam’s life. His mother, Linda, was devastated and decided to leave their native Puerto Rico and begin a new life in California with Adam and his two brothers. This new environment presented challenges in culture, language and lifestyle. Financial struggles plagued the family. They rented rooms so that the boys would be safe.
Linda was frequently engulfed with sadness – often upset, often crying. Adam was often angry. He blamed his mother for the separation making him frequently frustrated and hostile.
Unable to express his feelings of abandonment in healthy ways he became aggressive, disrespectful and difficult to handle. His attitude and actions landed Adam in trouble at home and at school. The strain in Adam’s relationship with his mother often erupted into angry arguments. Daily disciplinary action because of disruptive and defiant behaviors, low motivation for following directions and completing school assignments were threatening his future. By the time he was in the eighth grade, with a 1.6 GPA, Adam was at risk of failing or dropping out of middle school.
In the ARCC PEI Program, Adam began to set goals – to work on those anger issues, to increase his motivation and to care about his academic success. Adam learned to communicate in a healthy, productive way with his family and friends. He says that what made the difference was that PEI staff believed in him and supported him. He turned himself around and graduated from middle school with a 3.4 GPA – an enormous accomplishment!
Optimistic about his future, Adam says, “This is only the beginning for me. I’m going to do great things.” Linda says she has gained so many things from the experience of working with PEI that will “last a lifetime.” Today his mother is proud of Adam’s achievements – learning to communicate and behave with respect and taking pride in his academic success.
In fact, they are both proud of all that Adam has become.