Independent Living Spotlight:
Holidays In The IL Program

It's hard to believe that the holidays are upon us again so soon. It seems like only yesterday that I ate more turkey than I could possibly hold, wrapped presents until my fingers were numb and dismantled the Christmas tree yet again.

At DePaul, the holiday season is always hectic for the staff as we try to make sure that all of the children and families in our programs have a wonderful holiday. This task isn't very difficult when the child or adult you're working with lives with foster parents, adoptive parents or care providers who go above and beyond to make the holidays memorable and fun. Even though they may not always know it, these kids and adults are very blessed to be living in safe, caring homes with substitute parents or caregivers.

Making sure that the holidays are fun and full of hope for the teens in our Independent Living program is a much more daunting task for the DePaul staff. These teens are living alone in their own apartments and many of them don't have birth family or previous foster families that they can be with during the holidays. DePaul staff does everything that we can to act as a "family" for the teens during the holidays, but we all know that there is no way that social workers can come close to being like family in the eyes of these teens. It has become a tradition at DePaul for the IL staff to have a Thanksgiving feast and a Christmas dinner with the IL teens. Everyone always has a great time at those events. The teens contribute dishes at both celebrations so that they can show off their cooking skills to the other teens and the IL staff.

The meals are traditional - from turkey and stuffing to the pumpkin pie. These dinners are usually filled with laughter, good conversation and good natured teasing between the staff and the teens. DePaul staff always ensures that each teen has their own holiday decorations so that they can make their apartment as festive as they would like.

The social workers gladly help the teens decorate their apartments. Like most kids, the teens in the IL program look forward to receiving gifts. Around Thanksgiving, they all begin hinting to staff about what they would like to have for Christmas. It's heartwarming to see the child-like twinkle in the eye of a teen who lives alone but still has dreams of "Santa" presents. DePaul staff works hard, asking others for donations of money or gifts so that these teens will have what they want under their tree on Christmas. We have always been very fortunate to be able to find gracious folks in the community who are willing to donate to this cause, although it is sometimes difficult and uncomfortable for the staff to ask for these donations at a time of year when finances are often tight. These are just small things that we do to try to make the holidays memorable for these young adults who are on their own for the first time. We hope that these things will help combat the loneliness and sadness that some of the teens experience around the holidays, however we wish that there was more that could be done. We're always looking for creative ways to make the holidays bright for these kids and would welcome new ideas. We ask that you keep the IL kids in your thoughts and prayers around the holidays.

April Estrada, Lead Supervisor, Roanoke