The Millers: Fostering Love, Hope, and Care

My husband and I always knew that “one day” we wanted to foster. His father grew up in foster care and contributed much of his success in life to his foster families. Being that family for a child was important to my husband, and to me. As God kept working on our hearts, we began to ask ourselves, “why wait, why not now?” Fast forward and here we are 14 months in as a foster family. About two weeks after becoming licensed, we welcomed two little boys into our home. We picked the youngest up from the hospital and then his brother about an hour later. If I am honest, those first weeks felt a bit like a circus. I can vividly remember standing at my dining table feeling overwhelmed. Reality sank in as I felt the weight of these two tiny humans who were looking up at me, no…

Mila & Cesar

Mila and Cesar came to Blueprints shortly after they moved into the City Mission’s Women and Children’s Shelter. Enrolling Cesar in Head Start and starting his education journey was Mila’s top priority. Cesar was very shy at first but through his consistent attendance, he has come out of his shell and is such a funny and polite kid. Mila is strong-willed, resilient, and an extremely loving mother and woman. Since enrolling Cesar in Head Start, Mila has worked with other Blueprints programs like Getting Ahead, to focus on her future story, and Matched Savings Account to give her a jump start. Mila’s positive attitude and confident steps toward self-sufficiency have inspired all of us.

danielle’s story

Growing up in Pittsburgh, Danielle was surrounded by family who struggled with mental illness and drug addiction. She fell into this same cycle. Danielle now lives in Washington, has maintained sobriety for three years, and has a 2-year-old son. She dreamed of providing a better future for her and her son, but never thought that it would be possible. Some of her barriers included a lack of strong family support, not making enough money, a lack of child care, single motherhood, and a felony conviction from her days battling addiction. Danielle joined the Getting Ahead program in January 2018. She graduated from the program with perfect attendance. She admits that Getting Ahead made a huge impact on her life and provided her with the knowledge and confidence to pursue her goals. She had felt lost for a long time, and did not know there were tangible supports that could actually…

monica’s story

Between her baby being born premature, struggling to pay for the baby’s food, and her insurance being denied, Monica was really struggling and felt very hopeless. “I had to turn to WIC for help, and behold it was a turning point for me and my family,” she said. WIC is a program for pregnant and postpartum women that need supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for them and their little ones. The people Monica worked with at the WIC office, especially Chandra and Rose, provided her not only the supplemental support she needed, but emotional support as well. “Chandra made me feel at ease with her compassionate soul…she made me so happy and her smiles were so encouraging and every nutritional support and advice I needed was met” According to Monica, Rose made sure Monica got everything she needed each month at her WIC appointments as well. Monica…

bridgette’s story

In March 2013, Bridgette, a single parent to a 2-year-old daughter, came to Blueprints seeking safe housing and reliable transportation. Though Bridgette grew up in Allegheny County, she had dropped out of high school before graduation. She took courses online, but ultimately, her goal was to return to high school to obtain her diploma. After her caseworker Anna helped her gather her transcripts and arrange a meeting with local school officials, the superintendent advised her to complete classes and obtain her GED instead of returning to school full time. Bridgette was initially reluctant, but agreed. Bridgette enrolled in Blueprints’ Work Ready program and began attending GED classes. In addition to working on readiness skills for the workplace and securing safe housing, she studied for her GED test and her driver’s permit test. Bridgette earned her permit on July 9, 2013. Unfortunately, due to a car accident, she left the program…

shawn e’s story

Shawn E. overcame many obstacles before he came to Blueprints. After recovering from addiction, he experienced a period of homelessness. He had lost his job and had spent some time in the City Mission. He had found a new job, but lived out of his car some days. Seeking rental assistance, Shawn was able to sign a lease for an apartment in Washington. Blueprints agreed to pay for his first month’s rent, security deposit, and incrementally decreasing partial rent for one if Shawn would participate in Blueprints’ programming for long-term rental assistance and budget coaching for one year. Shawn was excited for this new endeavor. The first time that he attended budget coaching, he stated, “You guys have an adopted son now.” Saving money for an emergency fund with the additional goal of purchasing a home in the future was a relatively new concept for him. Shawn consistently attended…

ricky’s story

Richard, or Ricky, as he prefers to be called, was a high school senior who wanted to build his future. He originally enrolled in Blueprints’ Work Based Learning Experiences (WBLE) program, which Blueprints offers in partnership with The Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. Work Based Learning Experiences are designed to assist 14-21 year old high school students with disabilities with 90-hour paid placements with local employers in the community. The students receive valuable work experience, along with an hourly stipend and realize their potential to succeed upon high school graduation. Ricky worked closely with his caseworker Lee as they searched for a positive placement. Eventually, they located a local contracting company that was willing to participate in the program and accepted Ricky as a general laborer. Ricky worked there until the summer came to an end and his services were no longer needed. Because Ricky still had remaining hours to successfully…

lenora’s story

Lenora overcame significant hardships in her life before she came to Blueprints. Though she hails from Beaver County, Lenora has lived in Washington since 2010. After undergoing treatment for her addiction at Greenbrier Treatment Center, she was referred to Blueprints. “I was in a relationship that ended with domestic violence,” she said. “I thought about moving, but there’s a lot of help in Washington.” Fresh Start, a program run by Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern Pennsylvania, helped Lenora move into safe, stable Section 8 housing. Lenora then enrolled in Blueprints’ Getting Ahead program. “I learned a lot in Getting Ahead and enjoyed the support,” she said. “It started my motivation to change my life. I got a lot of input in many different areas. Then, I just stepped into it and into helping myself with my past.” Lenora appreciated the strong support network within Blueprints. In addition to Hilary, who…

william’s story

Though he is only five years old, William has seen a lot before he became involved with Blueprints. Parental substance abuse brought William into Blueprints’ Foster Care program in March 2017. He was placed with his paternal grandparents, Melanie and John W. Though they did their best to help William adjust to his new home, the first four months were rocky. When William’s grandparents started feeling overwhelmed, they called Blueprints. Stacey, a Blueprints’ caseworker, visited their home and helped William’s grandparents work through their emotions. Stacey worked with Washington County’s Children and Youth Services to secure a behavioral specialist to help William with his trauma and problematic behaviors. Within a month, William made tremendous progress. Melanie and John formed a tight bond with him. As time passed, they decided William needed to be a permanent member of their family and successfully adopted him. On April 27, 2018, William found his…

jamie’s story

In July 2016, Jamie and her family welcomed the arrival of their second child, a baby boy weighing less than 2 pounds. Because he was born prematurely, he spent 48 days in the NICU, fighting for his life. This was an incredibly stressful and scary time for Jamie and her family, but happily, she was able to bring him home in September. According to Jamie, one of the biggest blessings that helped her through the ordeal was the Blueprints WIC program. WIC provides breastfeeding support, nutrition education, supplemental foods, and health care referrals for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, and to infants and children until the age of five. Like many people who come through Blueprints’ door, Jamie’s knowledge of WIC was limited. “I was nervous for our initial appointment because I was afraid the staff at the WIC office would be cold, unfriendly or even mean. I could…

Success Stories