Story of hope, a life worth living

Dec. 30, 2010 - PRLog -- San Bernardino, CA – As Chandra Cross’ parole date neared her anxiety and excitement about the future began to mount. Broken family ties made her fearful as she realized she had nowhere to turn. Determined to change the course of her life, Chandra became persistent in her quest to find a place to make her transition. She found Time for Change Foundation.

While in prison Chandra dialed the Foundation’s number with hopes that they would have a bed for her. She recalls, “I knew going back to prison was not an option for me. The conditions of prison is not how I want to live, I know how I want to live.”

“I get a lot of calls from women all the time, but when I see consistency especially while incarcerated I knew she had a desire to change,” said Eula Charles, Case Manager of TFCF.

With a reserved bed at TFCF Chandra’s fears began to subside as she became hopeful about the future. “All I could think about was reuniting with my son,” she said.

With only the clothes on her back, Chandra entered TFCF both relieved and afraid. The case manger worked closely with Chandra to construct a life recovery plan that included family reunification, parenting classes, counseling, drug and alcohol treatment, life skill development, and financial literacy.

Separated from her son for nearly half of his life, Chandra was motivated to be a better woman and a better mother. Chandra reunited with her son after three weeks into her program.

“Parenting gave me a foundation that properly prepared me to reunite with my son,” said Chandra. “The counseling helped me learn how to communicate and gave me a voice that I did not have.”

“TFCF helped me learn how to focus on my son’s needs. Had I not come to Time for Change I would not have learned essential parenting skills like the importance reading to my son, constructive playtime, and preparing healthy meals for him to grow,” expressed a teary eyed Chandra.

The light is back in her eyes with a glimmer of hope for her and Ronnie’s future. “TFCF has assisted with more than shelter, clothes, and toys for me and my son,” Chandra said. “They have allowed me the opportunity to bond with him and now I am able to provide him with a foundation so that he is able to succeed in life without going down the same path I once traveled.”  

TFCF is deeply committed to the children in its program. While the Foundation cannot rewrite history for its adult residents, it can help them to make a significant impact on the lives of their children. Time for Change seeks to break the cycles of abuse, neglect, addiction and incarceration by creating sustainable lifestyles that moves beyond fulfilling the basic needs for survival.

# # #

Time for Change provides essential resources, through our programs and services, to women and children who desire to change the course of their lives by making the transition from homelessness and recidivism to self-sufficiency.