After raising two older children who are now grown, I had faced my toughest challen with my youngest daughter who was in middle school at the time. My daughter began acting out in middle school. She was disrespectful to her teachers, disobeyed me and her grades plummeted. I knew I had to find helf when my daughter ran away. Valle del Sol's Community Resource Center was located at my daughter's school. They referred us to their Youth Services program where our family received counseling. My daughter attended a week-long leadership academy through the agency's partnership with the Arizona National Guard. That was a major turning point for her. She came back with a totally different attitude. My daughter is very different now. She still has a strong personality, but she's not defiant. She's very happy now. I also got help at the Resource Center attending adult education classes. I've developed friendships with other parents and learned how to use a computer. Valle del Sol helped us so much, they changed our lives.
I sought help from Valle del Sol when my son Manny egan acting out at home and in school. My son was very impulsive and aggressive. He was fighting with other children and tried to hit his teachers. At home, he would get frustrated and angry and would throw toys at me. He wasn't like this when he was younger. Through Valle del Sol, Manny began working with a behavior coach and was placed on medication after he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. His behavior coach taught him ways to control his emotions instead of lashing out. They gave me a behavior chart to use at home and at school to receive positive rewards for good behavior. He learned not to hit - both himself and others because sometimes he would get so frustrated that he would hit himself in the head. Valle del Sol offered me parenting classes, which helped me improve and learn new parenting skills. Manny is doing well in school now an d has made many good friends. I'm very grateful for Valle del Sol's help because his behavior has improved so much.
Graduating from Valle del Sol's Hispanic Leadership Institute-West program opened up a whole new world for me. HLI-West helped me with my develop more of my leadership skills, make local connections. One example of a valuable experience I received was visiting the offices of The Arizona Republic to receive training on how to work with the media. With the leadership tools I received, the wonderful new friendships I developed and the connections I made to the Latino community, I gained much more from teh experience than I ever expected.
Valle del Sol started a Consumer Resource Center for their Adult Services consumers. Being a consumer myself and with the help of Valle del Sol kicked a 15-year-long drug addiction. I'm pleased now to function as a role model because I feel confindent that the techniques I've learned to keep my life active and my mind clear are positive things that people should emulate. I have extensive computer experience and felt that I could give back to Valle del so I volunteered two times a week to teach a computer class to others consumers. The Center provides a private area to go for resume writing, computer and internet access, finding housing, job searching, community resources and a library.
I look forward to going to Valle del Sol's Valle del Sol's Tiempo de Oro progam for older adults. I like the craft projects, and the chance to share with others who are my age, and I learn from them. The program has helped me to meet new friends and learn about issues that affect older people like diabetes, depression, Alzheimer's. I go home thinking about what we've talked about and it make me feel better. Most of the friends I had before aren't alive anymore. Tiempo de Oro offers a place to share our common life experiences.
Leaving the neighborhood where I lived for nearly 70 years and raised my family was overwhelming. The neighborhood, however, had deteriorated to the point where I no longer felt safe. I qualified for help through the Voluntary Acquisition and Relocation Services program at Valle del Sol. The program helped me find a home in safer neighborhood. They made sure my new home was safe, inspecting the home and helping to re-roof the back porch and fix one of the bathrooms. They took the time to make sure everything was working and make sure I wasn't going to have any problems. Valle del Sol staff was so understanding and had a lot of empanthy for what I was going through. My new neighborhood is peaceful and my neighbors are friendly. I am eternally grateful to Valle del Sol for all of the help and support they gave me. New beginnings are the best thing for anyone.
I am a teenager in high school, and before I started going to Valle del Sol for help, I was getting into trouble at school, staying out late and being disrespectful. After working with counselors from Valle del Sol, who visited my family at our home and worked with me at school, there has been a big change in my outlook. I am now involved in student government at school, love being involved with the drama class, enjoy reading and am hoping to go into cosmetology or journalism after high school. Valle del Sol helped me build my self-esteem and helped me find out more about who I really am and who I want to be. They helped out with my anger management and taught me to deal with it in positive ways. I now write down my feelings, express myself through poetry or talk to someone I trust instead of acting out. I joined Valle del Sol's Youth Leadership program, which helped me to become a leader towards those who look up to me. My whole family says they have seen great changes in me and I have seen changes in them. We have more togetherness, more love and more pleasantness with each other. When we speak to each other there is no hostility, all that has gone away.
Since getting help from Valle del Sol, I have seen amazing changes in my son, who is 11 years old. Before Erick was failing school, took hours to finish his homework, had behavior problems, and was being bullied at school. Erick recognized he needed help too. He was diagnosed with ADHD and found he could concentrate much better with medication. I took parenting classes that Valle del Sol offered and learned techniques that I could use with Erick and my younger daughter. The comprehensive help I found at the agency came with a personal touch and real concern for people. Erick now feels better able to control his feelings and is doing much better in school. He's a very responsible kid. He is helping a lot at home. It's amazing. I'm very proud of my son and very grateful to Valle del Sol.
Valle del Sol offered me a place of hope at a time in my life when I didn't know where to turn. I became depressed after no being able to work because of my fibromyalgia. I couldn't provide for my children like I was used to and I began closing everything out and missing out on a lot of things. The counseling sessions have changed my life. Before coming to Valle del Sol, I never felt loved in my life. In a weeking art therapy group, I found ways to express and explore my feelings. Every week that I come, every week gets a little better. My self-esteem gets better, my future looks brighter. We're all here for one reason and that's to heal and to learn to live. I'm living again. I'm the real Della.
When my son began attending Washington Elementary School, I found a welcoming place where I could get help at Valle del Sol's Community Resource Center. I began taking a series of parenting classes offered by the Community Resource Center. It's important to educate ourselves on how to raise our kids in a better way. Before taking the classes, I yelled and got mad about everything my sons did, but the classes I learned to control myself better. From offering learning opportunities to helping parents who can not afford school uniforms, Valle del Sol is an important resource for families. I'm grateful because Valle del Sol has changed my life by helping me to help my kids and be a better parent.