When you look at Anna and her bright, happy baby, you would never think that the two were recently homeless. Yet, last year they became one of more than 4,800 families in the emergency assistance shelter program in Massachusetts.
Anna herself never thought she would be homeless. But shortly after her daughter was born, she experienced some set-backs. With her husband in Africa, and no family to support her, Anna and her baby found themselves with nowhere to go and no one to turn to. They began living at the Home Suites Inn in Waltham, which houses many homeless families.
For the new mother, the isolation of living in the hotel felt like a prison. With no access to public transportation and no social connections, Anna began to feel depressed. “I knew something was wrong,” she said. “The feelings I was having were different from the feelings of regular stress.”
To be the mother she wanted to be, Anna needed help, which she found at the JF&CS Center for Early Relationship Support®. She started attending the Postpartum Depression (PPD) Support Group, aptly called “This Isn’t What I Expected.” Anna also received therapeutic visits at the hotel from an Early Connections® clinician.
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