The family is both the fundamental unit of society as well as the root of culture. It... is a perpetual source of encouragement, advocacy, assurance, and emotional refueling that empowers a child to venture with confidence into the greater world and to become all that he can be. 

Marianne E. Neifert, Dr. Mom's Parenting Guide

When you see trauma, you will likely never see the scared little boy hiding under his sheets with his teddy bear or hear the tearful plea from a little girl who says her parents fight too much. By the time you see trauma, it often looks like angry and resentful teenagers who use their rage like a shield.

At last July’s Wine, Women & Shoes fundraising event in Coeur d’Alene, IYR clinician Amanda Smith shared an amazing story with hundreds of generous guests, all gathered to support promising futures for Idaho kids and families. With her permission we're glad to have the opportunity to share this story with you. The story is true, but we've changed the hero's name to protect his privacy.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, an opportunity to shine a light on a problem that too often hides unacknowledged in the shadows. And the impact on children is huge, whether they become targets themselves or whether they witness the abuse of a parent or caregiver.

If you've seen the Summer 2015 issue of our Maverick newsletter, you'll remember a short article about Nathan McEwen, who is an IYR graduate and whose teenage son is also an IYR graduate. Last year, Nathan gave a talk for an IYR staff meeting and shared his story with us, and we'd like to share that longer version with you--the supporters and donors who make success stories like Nathan's possible.

To say that Nicole had a rough start in life is an understatement. As an infant, Nicole’s diapers would go unchanged so long that she remembers the pain of having urine burns all over her tiny body and once watching her older brother and sister try to eat cat litter while their mom was sinking into meth addiction.

Mending the Ties that Bind at the Ranch Campus

When Katie first came to the Ranch Campus, she had no intention of ever returning home. Adopted as a teenager, she feared that her parents loved their biological kids more and the resulting conflicts had torn the family apart. Her intention was to complete the Ranch program, move into independent living, attend college, and never look back. 

Betrayed by her family, Amanda once believed she had only herself to rely on. But she left Hays Shelter home knowing that her IYR “family” will always be here to support her into adulthood.               

Here it is- the Spring 2015 issue of The Maverick newsletter, full of success stories about Idaho kids and families whose lives have changed for the better, thanks to your generous support. 

 After nine months of living in a shelter, with her husband incarcerated and her children in foster care, Janine managed to find housing and a job and finally got her kids back. But the family’s challenges were far from over. All that upheaval and uncertainty was tough to bounce back from. Sibling conflicts and even violence erupted and became daily occurrences at home.

Janine felt like a failure, a “bad mom” who didn’t know how to set ground rules for her children or stop the fighting. She turned to IYR Family Counseling for help.

The well-practiced professionals on IYR’s Family Counseling staff know that patience, empathy, and especially creativity are keys to helping clients break old patterns and create true change in their lives.