“This is starting to feel different”, Marcus thought to himself as he sat on his living room floor, his mom in her wheelchair to his left, and Melissa, his Savio therapist sitting with him on the floor to his right.

It wasn’t the feeling of the hardwood floor beneath him that felt different. He had gotten used to that – his family didn’t have a couch, or a kitchen table to sit at.  His family was recently homeless and there hadn’t been any furniture in his family’s apartment since they moved.

Norma Aguilar-Dave, Savio’s Executive Director, was sitting in her office on a typical Friday afternoon when she received a phone call from a colleague at a local mental health center.

“I’m hoping you can help a fourteen-year-old boy in a bad situation,” the woman began. The caller sounded exasperated, which told Norma this was a severe situation.

It was the Monday morning after the long Thanksgiving weekend, and Britton was just easing back into the work week. Her phone rang, and she glanced at her caller ID and saw it was her client Kristi reaching out unexpectedly. Britton had been working with Kristi since March as part of a voluntary program for parents and children who become involved with Jefferson County as the result of child maltreatment related to a parent’s use of drugs or alcohol.