Recently, 12 year old Brianne was assigned a homework project to build a drum with materials found at home and present it to her class the following day. In the past, she had refused to participate in presentations at school because of the chaos in her home. Although Brianne’s mother encouraged her to do her homework and study hard to become a doctor, it was difficult for her to do that. While Brianne’s mom worked multiple jobs to support the family, she was very busy at home in the evenings taking the place of her mother – cooking, cleaning, etc. On top of that, her father’s constant verbal abuse toward her was tearing down her self-esteem.
With encouragement from her mom and the staff of IHO, Brianne threw all her effort into her homework assignment. Not only did she create the drum, but she spent the whole evening pouring her identity into its decoration. In the safe atmosphere of IHO and with mom’s ongoing support, Brianne was given the opportunity to embrace her childhood and complete her school assignment. In the end, she was rewarded with an excellent mark on her assignment and inspiration to work hard and achieve her dreams.