Malena Vega’s Success

Before my life changed for the better I was in and out of treatment facilities, juvenile detention places, and foster homes for no longer than a couple of months. I had anger problems and trust issues. I was diagnosed with ADD, Anxiety, and Depression and I took a few different medications for these.

My first day at the group home was not the best first impression. I had a bad attitude and did not care. It took me a while to get used to people really caring about me and my life choices. I really connected to a couple of the staff, Amanda and Dani, and they showed me that you don’t need to be in a house with your biological family to be loved and cared for as much as they cared for me.

I worked with a therapist while I was at the group home. When I started working with her I would go in there and take a nap on the couch. Then I realized one day after my seventeenth birthday that I was almost eighteen and my life choices then would affect the goals I set for myself. I knew I had to work harder and listen to the people who were trying to help me.

The day I found out that I was graduating from the group home I had some mixed feelings. I was scared that I would not have Amanda and Dani in my life anymore. I grew really close to them and I felt like I was part of the family at the group home. There were bad times but there were even better times. I did not have a lot of good times before the group home. I grew a lot in the three years I was there and learned some very important skills that I use in my everyday life now. I also learned how to create and maintain healthy relationships.

Today, I am twenty-one, happily married, and working at a place that is quite a bit like the group home. I want to be that person Amanda and Dani were for me. I am glad they stayed in contact with me when I left because I still needed them. I am still diagnosed with ADD, but nothing else, and I no longer take any medications. I am forever grateful for my experience in the Family Solutions Girls Group Home.