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We began seeing Ashley*, a young Latina student, after
she was referred to us by the Sequoia Teen Wellness
Center. It was hard to believe she was still in high
school. Already she had experienced the responsibilities,
worries and harsh reality of adulthood. Ashley was the
oldest of three girls. Her father had abandoned her
family and left her ill mother as the primary caretaker
of the household. At this misfortune, Ashley was forced
to take a full-time job, working from 3pm to 10pm Monday
through Saturday to support her family.
Much of her distress, depression and difficulty in
school was due to exhaustion and poverty. With the help
of the outreach services provided by the On-Campus Counseling
Program at Menlo-Atherton High School, a plan was implemented
to relieve some of the financial burden, including providing
Ashley with gift cards to Safeway, Ross, Target and
TJ Maxx.
Given these circumstances, Ashley believed that some
of the basic high school experiences teens look forward
to were beyond her grasp, such as getting a yearbook
for her friends to sign and going to the prom. However,
Ashley’s ACS counselor was able to connect her
with a program that let her work as a teacher’s
assistant for a day during lunch to earn a prom ticket.
Ashley’s counselor also secured a free yearbook
for her.
Through her counseling sessions with ACS, Ashley was
able to realize that she was not alone, and that she
did not have to carry all of the burdens of her family
life in isolation. Ashley learned that just as she was
providing for her family, there were others who would
help provide for her emotional and physical needs. Ashley
was forced to grow up overnight when her father left.
With the help of counseling, Ashley became a teenager
again, and was able to enjoy the duration of high school
with the excitement of being young.
By letting people in and expressing her own needs,
Ashley opened the door to the many people that were
willing to come through for her. In the end, not only
did Ashley decrease her isolation, but she also attended
her high school prom and graduated on June 16, 2005,
making her mother and ACS very proud!
*Name changed to protect confidentiality
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