In This House There Isn't Chaos
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To say the least, Tracy has a lot going on. When Shacoya Bates from Every child, Inc. arrives for a visit Tracy has almost everything ready at her dining room table: a stack of paperwork, her planner, notes about the forms. Her 13 year old granddaughter, Anya, has just called to say she'll be staying after school for homework club.
A few years ago, Anya was living in a car under a bridge with her mother and brothers. Anya's mother, and Tracy's former daughter in law, struggles with addiction and mental health problems. Eventually Anya went to go live with her grandmother, Tracy. While they have a happy home there is still much work to be done in helping Anya work through the guilt of being the sibling who got out and her own personal struggles with PTSD from her childhood. This is where Bates, from Every Child Inc. comes in, she helps Tracy find outlets for Anya to work through her past and checks in how Anya and Tracy are coping with their new relationship. "You guys are a really good team" Bates says. "We're working on it. As you change from a grandparent to a parent, that's a big adjustment. She's used to being the parent. That doesn't work here." Tracy exaplains. Tracy herself is heavily involved in volunteer activities - advocating for Veterans' Court, mental health awareness classes, and sobriety groups.
Read the rest at storyburgh.org .
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#pgh #pitt #pittsburgh #pennsylvania #storyburgh #Veterans #service #grandparents #parents #children #teens #addiction #mentalhealth #sobriety #awareness #homelessness #PTSD #siblings #family #everychildinc #volunteer #love #usa #school #highschool #homework #rules #team #steelcity

Loving a “24-hour” Child

When you’re five, your day is full of transitions: it’s time to get out of bed, change your clothes, brush your teeth, use the bathroom, eat your breakfast.

For Jamal, a 5-year-old boy with Oppositional Defiance Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, and Autism Spectrum Disorder, transitions provide more of an obstacle him and his grandparents, who are raising him.
George and Susanna gave up retirement and ministries to guide Jamal through the transitions in therapy, education, and daily life. Recently, Shacoya Bates from Every Child, Inc. joined the process, validating Susanna’s wear- and wariness. Having a child with any kind of special need is an exhausting experience. But someone like Shacoya is there to hopefully help make that exhaustion a little less overwhelming.
Untraveled avenues that Shacoya finds, such as new therapies or ways to help Jamal stay at a healthy weight, are welcome bits of information; they’ll try anything. “He’s not merchandise,” George says. “You can’t just get over him or give up on him. He’s our grandson.”
Read the rest at www.storyburgh.org .
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#storyburgh #pittsburgh #children #fostercare #grandson #kids #health #wellness #mentalhealth #specialneeds #parents #grandparents #everychildinc #therapy #education #family #love #autism

Train Like A Champion
“Boxing is like a bug,” John James told me. “You either love it or hate it. If you love it, it never lets you go.” James, a former champion amateur boxer (Pittsburgh Golden Gloves, 1994, 165 lbs), now serves Pittsburgh as a volunteer trainer for Steel City Boxing. The gym, located in Spring Hill, is a decommissioned firehouse. While it’s open to the public, most of its members are young adult men.
Bob Sobocinski, president of the Spring Hill Civic League and the president of the gym, views the gym as a source of cohesion and civic pride. He hopes it can restore social unity in Spring Hill. “I’d like to see the neighborhood like it used to be,” Sobocinski said. “There used to be groups like Little League that don’t exist anymore.” Read the rest at www.storyburgh.org .
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#boxing #storyburgh #Pittsburgh #northside #springhill #springhillcivicleague #pittsburghgoldengloves #champion #train #gym #community #neighborhood #steelcityboxing #amateurboxing #amateurboxingassociation #volunteer #spirit #postive #service #youngpeople #youth

First time ever the #neighborhood #blockparty had a band performance. Thanks, @andmoreband . You guys rocked! #squirrelhill @storyburgh

Wonder Writers from the Heights •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Hudson Rush, a local Pittsburgh artist, took leadership of the Women's Writing Group of Northview Heights in August 2015. The group is dedicated to creating a safe place in which women in the community can write and share their lived experiences. Rush has worked with the group for two years. In that time she has helped the women have their voices heard in public readings at the City of Asylum, Newkirsh, and in various community days. Now Rush and the participants are working on a documentary chronicling their work with the help of the Sprout Fund and are hoping to have their writings published in the coming year. Rush views the group as a democracy in which voices are given a place to be heard and inner strength brought to the forefront.
Read the rest at www.storyburgh.org .
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#pgh #pitt#pittsburgh #pennsylvania #northviewhieghts #women #writers #womenwriters #poetry #art #CityofAsylum #Newkirsh #stories #share #community #sprountfund #documentary #voices #published #usa #books #writersofinstagram #writers #writing #spokenword #communityarts

Showing #robrogerscartoons on #homelessness during #OpenStreetsPGH with #alleghenycounty Homelessness Advisory

We welcomed Bagheera home on 1/23/22 after losing Pumpkin to cancer on 10/12/21. They both have similar personalities.