Below is the story of Susie* as told by her Friend Heather*, a child who was selected for Friends of the Children – Portland as a kindergartner last year and who is already showing positive change from her relationship with her Friend, and her involvement in the program.

Susie was identified as a child that would benefit from having a mentor in kindergarten. Susie was not the worst behaved student in the class by any means, nor did she stand out in any other obvious negative way.
Over the course of the 6-week child selection process, we learned that Susie was almost always late to school. She and her family had been homeless and had only recently found stable housing. Her parents had been heavily involved in drugs, but had begun to clean up their act. This was Susie’s first year of school, so she was behind her peers who had a year of pre-K. She always tried very hard in class, but she often needed extra one-on-one help to keep up.

I have the honor of being Susie’s Friend. Before becoming involved in Friends of the Children, Susie rarely experienced life outside of a five block radius of her school and apartment, which she describes as "America." In fact, she spent much time holed up in her dark apartment playing video games. Susie asked me on one of our first visits, "Do you live in America?" wanting to know if her I lived near her.

In the past year and a half, Susie has ventured far beyond her "America." She has attended Camp Friends, the Friends of the Children academic summer camp, twice. She has taken all kinds of enriching classes-- ballet, tap and hip-hop dance, Tae Kwon Do and swimming lessons. In talking with her about how talented she is and how many interests she has, Susie said, "What would I do if you had never come and knocked on #4?"

Because of Friends of the Children, Susie has gained so much self-confidence and hope for the future. She is already planning to apply for scholarships for college. She wants to become an astronaut.

* Names have been changed to protect our program youth.