Mary* was trying to balance the stress of her job as a traveling hospice aid while parenting her four children with her ex-husband, all while eight months pregnant. As if this wasn’t enough, she found out that her boyfriend was abusing her four-year-old son while she was at work. During a visit with his children,
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First comes love, and then comes marriage, a house, and kids… it’s a tale as old as time. Jenny* and her husband followed these steps and were hopeful for their future together. Everything was going great until Jenny and her family lost their house. Her relationship with her husband became rocky, and they struggled to
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Highfields has had to adapt to the changing environment just like the rest of the world. For students part of the Residential Treatment Program, life isn’t much different, but it does have some new challenges. Highfields’ campus is full of relatively new students, which reduces the impact of peer leadership and leads to some behavioral
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While most summer activities were either cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Highfields’ residential students were able to participate in basketball camp in late-August thanks to a grant from the RE Olds Foundation. Students and staff both looked forward to the basketball camp as a great way to end the stressful summer and
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Tina* was being abused by her husband for years. She trained her mind to find ways to avoid making him upset in the hope that it would protect her and her kids, but it didn’t. She began to rely on drinking to cope. She was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and was referred
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Mutisystemic Therapy (MST) is a family and community-based treatment program designed to help at-risk youth make better decisions. After 30 years in the food and beverage industry, Ron Jackson decided he needed a new challenge. He attended night classes to continue his education, and became one of the first therapists to be hired for Highfields’
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Ingham Academy is an alternative high school in Lansing that gives youth involved in the court system a chance to earn a diploma while learning necessary life skills. It is run with a partnership between Ingham Intermediate School District, Highfields, and the Ingham County Circuit Court. Joanna Hayes began working at Highfields 13 years ago
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Being a parent can be both rewarding and terrifying, especially at 17 years old. For James*, it meant stepping up and providing for his family. James was struggling to balance a good relationship with his son’s mom, provide for his family, and look out for his six siblings, all while trying to make it through
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Every year Highfields’ Reaching Higher after school program provides kids with the chance to have a summer camp experience. Although many camps have closed, it’s given staff the opportunity to think “outside the box” to provide a new experience for students called: “camp in a box!” Staff from Reaching Higher schools have created over 700
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Only six months in the role of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) Supervisor, Morgan was blindsided by the worldwide quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I’m being pushed to be more creative with problem solving,” said Morgan. “I’ve learned how to stay true to the MST model while remaining considerate and empathetic to every client’s unique situation.”
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