Reaching Out to Families in Crisis

Anya (not her real name) is a 33-year old single mother of four.  In 2010, the Worcester family relocated to the Green Island area.  On the day she came to Pernet for formula and diapers for her baby she also received emergency food from our food pantry. More importantly: that day was the beginning of a beautiful relationship with our family-serving agency. 

Striving to make a good life for her children, Anya had tried salaried work, but schedules and hours did not fit her children’s school schedules.  When her TANF worker suggested volunteering at a local non-profit, an arrangement that would qualify her for for child care and other benefits, Anya returned to Pernet to apply for a volunteer position.  

And so, Anya began volunteering in the very services she had received: she became the assistant for our Emergency Food Pantry and Diapers and Formula Program, programs that benefit from Partners in Charity funding.  Here she gained computer competency and case management skills, and quickly learned of referral services available throughout Worcester, knowledge which she passed along to food pantry clients.  “I get to meet a lot of people,” she says. “It never gets boring!  And I love helping people.”

As a Pernet volunteer, new “doors” opened for Anya and she was hungry to access them all:

• Her children attend our Homework Club and use our Community Computer Lab.
• She became very active in Pernet’s Leadership Training Academy.
• She improved her relations with her children through Parenting Classes.
• Our Nutrition Classes, offered in collaboration with UMass Extension, helped her plan healthier meals and taught her to be smarter in shopping. 
• She is now a member of our Parent Advisory Council, identifying challenges facing parents today and how Pernet can be supportive to them.

“The best thing that has happened is that we have a stable family life!  I can be home with the kids.  We have a routine.  My youngest is now in day care and loves it.”

“My next goal is to finish my GED,” says Anya.  “In January I hope to be able to get a car, which will allow me to get to GED classes and still be home on time for the kids when they come from school.  Buses and walking take a lot of time, so (otherwise) I can’t be home when I need to be.”

“Because of my volunteering at Pernet I am able to be there for my kids.  I can help other people in a way I enjoy and still receive assistance from the government.  I’m getting great training in so many ways that will help me in my job search.”

Anya embodies Pernet’s mission: to reach out to families in crisis situations, responding to immediate needs, offering support that will enable them to become self-sufficient and eventually invest their energy in the larger community as leaders.  

Our “front door ministry” is privileged to help Anya and all those who come to us for help during times of need. 

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