For Lilly Mourning, a single mom of 3 living in Bristol, the
Whole Family Approach was the solution she was looking for to help her family
and find success. The approach is being administered as a pilot project through
People, Inc., and utilizes coaches to work with families on skills like
budgeting and goal-setting to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty.
Mourning’s story was recently feature by WCYB News 5 in Bristol. In 2020, Mourning was unemployed and owned a car that was constantly breaking down. Now she owns her first home and a brand-new car, thanks to the Whole Family Approach program.
“Whenever I first joined the program, I wasn't able to work at the time, it was in the middle of the pandemic, I couldn't find childcare, living in a very bad apartment complex," said Mourning. "Through the support, I've been able to graduate college, buy a vehicle, and I now own my own home. It took a 10-year goal and did it in 3-4 [years]."
Mourning worked with her Whole Family coach on setting personal goals for her entire family. Her coach also helped her find resources for her son, who was diagnosed with epilepsy when she first became involved with Whole Family. She says, “They helped me find the resources to fight for him and to be his voice, and he's now doing excellent in school."
Lily told News 5 that as a mom, she was scared to seek out help, but added she's thankful she did. "Being able to ask for that help and have an organization that will actually step up and help you is way more important than holding onto that pride and digging yourself into a deeper hole and staying in a situation that you don't want to be in for even longer."
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Mourning’s story was recently feature by WCYB News 5 in Bristol. In 2020, Mourning was unemployed and owned a car that was constantly breaking down. Now she owns her first home and a brand-new car, thanks to the Whole Family Approach program.
“Whenever I first joined the program, I wasn't able to work at the time, it was in the middle of the pandemic, I couldn't find childcare, living in a very bad apartment complex," said Mourning. "Through the support, I've been able to graduate college, buy a vehicle, and I now own my own home. It took a 10-year goal and did it in 3-4 [years]."
Mourning worked with her Whole Family coach on setting personal goals for her entire family. Her coach also helped her find resources for her son, who was diagnosed with epilepsy when she first became involved with Whole Family. She says, “They helped me find the resources to fight for him and to be his voice, and he's now doing excellent in school."
Lily told News 5 that as a mom, she was scared to seek out help, but added she's thankful she did. "Being able to ask for that help and have an organization that will actually step up and help you is way more important than holding onto that pride and digging yourself into a deeper hole and staying in a situation that you don't want to be in for even longer."
More