“Three years ago, our daughter Destiny started preschool at St. Mark. I was living in a women and children’s shelter with our four kids. While the shelter was meeting our basic needs – a place to sleep and something to eat – we needed more. You don’t get any help at a shelter. Kevin and I needed to work on our relationship and I was looking for a job and trying to go to school. I had no place for my kids to go and Kevin was not able to live in the shelter with us. That’s when we found UICS and St. Mark.

As soon as we were a part of things at the center, things began to change. Ms. Lockett, my UICS family advocate, was my lifesaver! She and Ms. Deidre (Anderson) connected me with housing, social services and a GED program. Kevin and I also got help so that we could be better parents together. The very next week, we moved out of the shelter into permanent housing and I started school. Since then, we’ve been going to parenting classes, involved in our community, and meeting other parents all because UICS guided us in the right direction.

While we are getting on our feet and moving our family forward, our kids are doing awesome! They are learning so much. When our son Kamari started preschool, we were scared for him. He was not a people person and did not want to be around other kids. After being in school at St. Mark, he is very social, has lots of friends, knows how to write his name and is learning a TON. He’s so smart!

Destiny started kindergarten this year and she was so ready because of UICS. Our older boys did not attend UICS and they did not know how to write their names and were not as prepared when they started (elementary) school. But with the help and guidance of the people at UICS, we are getting support needed for them to thrive.
None of this would have been possible without the services at St. Mark and people like YOU. We don’t have a network here in Kansas City and UICS has opened up a lot of resources for us. We feel like we are ready to be on our own. We feel like we will be okay. Your generosity is helping lots of other families just like ours.”

– Thank You, DaShauna and Kevin, UICS parents