Family Stories

Math assignments can be confusing and cause anxiety for many students. Tara, a local single mother, recognized the need for one-on-one math help in the area and began offering math tutoring services, both in person and virtually, about 5 years ago. She has had the pleasure of helping students find success in Elementary Math, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry and Calculus classes. She has also helped many students prepare for exams such as PSSA’s, Algebra Keystone, SAT, or ACT.

Tara has three main goals when working with a student. The first, and arguably the most important, is building a relationship with the student. Tara has a friendly rapport with her students and always strives to make them feel comfortable during their sessions. Next comes the meat of the session, which is making sense of the math content. Tara is able to explain math concepts in a way that makes the problems seem less intimidating for students. This often includes creating “steps” and using helpful “tricks” to get through each type of problem. Her third goal is simply to help her students find an increased level of confidence in their math work and overall problem solving abilities. Many of her students have a fond relationship with her and feel that their confidence and math solving skills increase after just a few sessions with Tara.

One of her favorite parts about working with math students is hearing their success stories. One student in particular spent years feeling like math was impossible for her. She didn’t think that she would ever be able to “do” the math that she needed in order to graduate high school, take the SATs, or go to college. However, after a year and a half of working with Tara, she was able to take the SAT with confidence and we are very proud to report that she will be attending community college in the fall to begin her journey into the field of Nursing! Another student was on the verge of failing his senior math course which would mean that he wouldn’t be able to graduate high school that year. The student had all but given up on the Geometry course, when his parents found Tara. She was able to help explain the topics to him and worked through many assignments with him over the next few months and he was able to pass his final exam and graduate on time!

Many parents can’t afford the hourly fee and so for the third year now, the Silence of Mary Home has a program to assist these parents. That expense has been taken from our General Fund, but we want to have a separate Fund to retain and even expand this program to have a team of tutors available. Math competence is important for school as well as many, many professional and technical fields, and an expert tutor may make the difference a young person needs to pursue their dream for a lifetime of productive success.

A few years after we had started our home on Market Street, Tyrone came to us looking for help.  He was a pre-teen and youngest of four children who had lived with their mother, but they lost their home and the mother left the area to find work and a home. This boy had heard about a church lady who was helping people in the area and that we were a safe place.  After talking with me, not only did he move in that day, but so did his siblings.  At this point Social Services wasn’t sure how to classify us, but they worked with the mother who signed papers so we could take care of the children legally, until she was able to provide for them again . During this time period, affordable housing was difficult to find and waiting lists were years long.

The mother often came back to see the children, and she worked hard for two years to get another home for them. Tyrone was the youngest, but he was the one who was aware of each family member’s needs.  He made sure I got counseling for one sibling who had mental health needs, and home schooling for all of them since the school system was failing at the time. Social Services kept in touch with the mother, who always made the final decisions for her children.

The kids were with us for about two and a half years, so we had two Christmases with them. The whole time that Tyrone was with us, his only wish was that his mom would get a house so they could be together again. Even at Christmas, this was all he would ask for, but made sure his siblings got nice gifts.

One Christmas, one sibling kept looking for a present from her mom under the tree, really needing to see a gift from her. I had received a beautiful piece of jewelry, and Tyrone suggested I give it to the sibling, but tagging it as from their mother. Another Christmas, they all received new sets of bedding. During the two years we also got other furniture so when they moved to that new home, they would have whatever they needed.

Tyrone saw me as his mother now — the mother he wanted his mom to be. When their mother had a place for them, and it was time to leave, he didn’t want to go. The counselors worked with his mom and us, to help him see that his mother was there for him. As part of this transition, I had to make him go with his mother, telling him “Your mother is back and you must leave now.” He got angry at this, saying that I was betraying him. Saying what I had to say broke my heart.  I let his mother know that we would always be here for all of them, like family. He didn’t contact me for more than 20 years.

Tyrone had told me that his dreams were to learn to read, graduate high school, learn to drive, get a college degree, and get married (no kids). In other words, he wanted a stable life. He was having some difficulties recently, so a friend told him to call the people at the house on the hill with Jesus painted on the wall.  He had forgotten about us, but he then recalled how we helped him, so he called us.  He did graduate high school and is 2 credits away from a college degree, has three children, can drive and has a car and has lived in the same house for the past 12 years.  His one child has special needs. He was looking for new beds for his kids since the old ones had fallen apart.  He still wasn’t asking for anything for himself, but necessities for his children.

Frank had been in a head-on collision over a year ago. He was not at fault in any way. This man spent three months in the hospital fighting for his life, then a year in rehab, and recently came home with an oxygen machine and crutches. The electric was about to be turned off even though Frank was on oxygen. Think about that — the oxygen machine needs electricity to work.

He had lost his job and his car was totaled. Because he was hit by a delivery driver who works for a business, the insurance companies of the driver and the business are still fighting over who will pay, so Frank won’t have the money to buy another vehicle until they settle.

Since the accident, he had used up all his savings to pay his electric, fuel, phone and other bills. He had always paid his bills on time. Now he was facing the loss of his home for back taxes. Frank had worked hard all his life and lives simply. He owns his own home, so he is not eligible for any government assistance. He’s a year away from getting his Social Security benefits so he will have the means to pay his bills.

A group of Frank’s friends pooled their funds on his behalf, though it wasn’t a lot. One friend filled his freezer with meat; another one is paying his trash bill indefinitely. His fuel oil had been used up and got delivered automatically, and he owed for that. His friends came to us and told us about his situation.

Frank came to our office and we told him that the oil company had grants available for people with bad luck, and he called them. He did receive a grant to pay the bill. We told him about local food banks where he could get groceries. Thanks to your generosity we were able to get his electric bills caught up, and paid the back taxes so his home would be secure. Soon he’ll be able to pay his own expenses again.

A single mom with a teenage son worked a full-time job waitressing along with a few hours of day-time temping. The restaurant she worked at closed, so she immediately got a job at a second restaurant. Then it closed too. (This was during the COVID lockdowns.) She was picked up full-time at a third restaurant. They started cutting her hours, and once again she got laid off, and she didn’t get unemployment. Then in November she started a job working from home.

This wasn’t enough to pay her bills. She got two months behind on her rent and utilities, and she was saving every penny. She couldn’t afford to go to a grocery store or anywhere else for a while, so we invited her to come “shop” at our office so she could use all her wages to catch up with her bills. She did this for two years.

As a result, she has gotten up-to-date on her rent and all of her utilities. A little aid from us let her become independent again, thanks to you.

Jimmy had aged out of foster care and had become homeless. Jimmy needed the security of a roof, door and a bed.

When storm flooding had threatened the security of the home on Market Street, Jimmy joined a volunteer at a storm drain to clear out the trash and debris. He was barefoot and wearing shorts with no shirt. The water was fast and rising, almost up to his knees. When told to put on some long pants and shoes, he couldn’t leave the spot, clearing the drain with his bare hands and saying over and over, “I can’t lose this home. I can’t lose this home.”

After the flood, he began to settle into the routine of daily life. People came and went, some staying longer than others, all becoming friends.

An older man came to stay with us. He happened to have the same last name as Jimmy. He was a fairly quiet person. Other family members noticed a resemblance between Jimmy and this older man. They began to ask questions about birthdates and whereabouts. It was pieced together that this was actually Jimmy’s father, whom he had never met. (His mother had passed away.) They started as friends and became family. A little later they got their own home, with the help of their case workers.

The family consisted of four children: twin boys, age 14, a16-year-old girl, and an 18-year-old girl. Dad had died and mom had disappeared for 6 months. She had never been gone this long before so they assumed that she was dead. They had always lived in abandoned housing and had never gone to school.

But now they were desperate. They knew they had to either (a) start to deal drugs, or (b) contact Children and Youth Services, but were afraid of being split up. Otherwise, they needed to (c) talk to us at the home. Meanwhile the younger sister was mentally ill and was getting worse. They were afraid she would commit suicide. They came to talk to us.

Each child was asked what their wish was. The boys’ wish was to go to school. We cared for them until they were old enough to go to a Job Corps residential program which included a GED and training in a trade.

The girl who was so ill was placed in a hospital until she could return to her family. Two siblings stayed with her for some time. This girl wanted to get in touch with their father’s sister, and a case worker located the woman. In fact, the aunt came to get her at the hospital, got custody, and took her into her home.

Meanwhile the Silence of Mary family and numerous volunteers made the house habitable: everything from electric and clean water to getting rid of the rodents. We had only 8 weeks to do this, since the children would need this house to live in. Then the 18-year old moved in and became the guardian of her siblings.

The oldest girl wanted an education and a job. She got her GED, and later became a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) at a local hospital.

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