Learning to trust, finding a home

Home and family were not easy terms for Donnie, 16. He had suffered abuse and neglect both in foster homes and from his adoptive parents. He arrived at Rolling Stone in the summer of 2009 lonely and abandoned.

 Donnie’s challenges also included cognitive and emotional disabilities. He not only needed to learn independent living skills, like cooking, cleaning and personal hygiene, but intensive counseling on how to trust again.

 He grew close to the group home staff, who took him under their wing. He wanted to stay at Rolling Stone until he turned 18 and could live on his own. “We had to really talk to him about what family means,” said Connie Schrank, social worker.

 While most residents will visit a foster home one weekend before moving in, Donnie had to visit several times before he felt safe. He finally moved into his foster home last fall at the age of 16.

“I think he’s most excited about the feeling of having a home,” Schrank said.

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