The saying goes that to raise a child, it takes a village. Sometimes, however, one person is the ENTIRE village. That’s exactly the load Jennifer has been shouldering for these last few years, but her efforts are about to pay off in a big way. 

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As a mother of four, Jennifer has been no stranger to the constant effort and dedication it takes to raising kids. Helping matters is the remarkable patience, calm, and understanding that she has cultivated through her experience as a mother and through her job. 

Jennifer works as a bus monitor in Oak Harbor for kids with special needs, making sure they get to and from school safely and without issue. “I buckle the kids in, and if there are behavior issues I help deal with those,” she explains.

Life was not a walk in the park

You might think that if Jennifer can successfully manage literal bus-loads of kids on a daily basis, parenting and home life would be a walk in the park for her. But if there’s one thing most jobs can’t train you to deal with – nor should they have to – it’s experiencing and reacting to domestic violence.

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Prior to arriving in Anacortes, Jennifer had dealt with domestic violence at home before. And what finally led her to the Anacortes Family Center was an encounter with a family member that told Jennifer she had to get herself and her youngest daughter, Elizabeth, out of a bad situation. Thanks largely to Rachel, Jennifer’s case manager, they arrived at AFC to start anew, on more stable ground and in what Jennifer describes as a safe space when she needed one most. Of course, even with a change of scenery, parenting persists. 

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Before coming to AFC, Jennifer and Elizabeth had been working through the latter’s learning difficulties, social anxiety, and subpar treatment at other school districts. They were looking for some place where Elizabeth could learn in a style most suited to her without the triggers and lack of understanding they’d encountered at the schools Elizabeth had been to. Then the need for a change of scenery at home arose, and on top of figuring out her daughter’s education, Jennifer was moving the two of them to the Family Center.

 

Not an easy start at AFC

Naturally, what followed shortly after? Well, a car accident, of course. 

A nine-car pileup on I-5 included Jennifer and her beloved Honda CR-V (affectionately named Shirley) not long after Jennifer and Elizabeth made it to AFC. Luckily, while Shirley wasn’t fated to recover from her injuries, Jennifer and the family made it out fine. And despite the recent situation at home that led them to AFC, a marathon of difficulties with the school districts that Elizabeth was toiling in, and the car accident, Jennifer just kept on trucking. 

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“I’ve been through a lot,” she says. “I really had to learn to stand up for myself.” 

Even though Jennifer has dealt with more in the last calendar year than most people do in ten years, she’s been a devoted and attentive parent the entire time – even if she doesn’t give herself much credit for it. “I had been parenting out of guilt for some time,” Jennifer recalls when thinking back to before the sequence of events that led her to Anacortes. But coming to AFC, “it’s given us a place to stay, it’s allowed us to keep our dogs… this place has made it safe for Elizabeth despite her anxiety, and we’ve been allowed to make our room our room to feel as at home as possible.” 

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"I can accomplish it"

There’s no question Jennifer always had what it takes to be the entire village for Elizabeth, but perhaps the AFC has helped to show her that she doesn’t need to be. The most impactful moment of the past few months, she says, came after she and Elizabeth had finally sorted out a setup for school that made Elizabeth feel like she could actually succeed. Jennifer explains how Elizabeth told her that all the events that led to their arrival at AFC had actually done her a favor, that “because I’ve been forced to do this stuff, I now realize I can do school, and I can accomplish it.” 

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Being a full-time parent won’t stop once Jennifer and Elizabeth are ready to move out of AFC before long, but Jennifer has lots to look forward to as she begins a new chapter – and she’s certainly earned it. After working as a bus monitor and advocating for herself at work the entire time at AFC, sorting out Elizabeth’s school situation, and coming out the other side of the car accident, her luck seems to have turned in a favorable direction. They’ll be moving into a brand-new apartment in Oak Harbor as soon as it’s ready in the very near future, and it will allow Elizabeth to have the space to herself and her pets she’s always wanted in a home. Additionally, it will be conveniently located for both of their jobs and for Elizabeth’s school. 

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There is nothing her resilient spirit can't weather

What’s next once they’ve moved and settled in? Being a super-mom every day of her life, Jennifer has that sorted out too – both she and Elizabeth will set aside bits of their paychecks for the two years it will take Elizabeth to finish her school program, so that when she finishes, they can take a trip to go “anywhere in the world we wanna go,” she says with a smile on her face. 

That’s the smile of a proud mother – and one that tells the world that after all she’s been through and her time at the AFC, there’s almost nothing her resilient spirit couldn’t weather.