About Jennifer's Family Homes

They say life is what you make it. They also say when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. Well, this is the story about someone who made lemonade out of any fruit life handed to her. Jennifer grew up with parents that believed in stability and bond. Through having a consistent environment, opportunity would provide itself for all their children and loved ones. The mission Jennifer is on was almost predestined when you consider the circumstances she’s lived through. Growing up as she did allowed for Jennifer to always feel that there was a safety net because her parents had a constant space for their family. Jennifer saw firsthand how having reliable living conditions can lead to endless possibilities. She and her siblings could be dreamers, they could dare to be different, and they could take an unconventional path to be successful. You might notice an accent when you’re talking to Jennifer. It’s because she grew up overseas in England. Her entire family lived there. When she got older, Jennifer and her spouse emigrated to the United States with their first-born son. Between the two of them, they had every intention of making something out of themselves in a place where they didn’t have any infrastructure or guidance. They just had a desire for more and a belief that they would be okay. Some years went by as they figured out how to survive, and they had another son. Then before you know it another 6 years passed by, and Jennifer gave birth to a baby girl named Davene. Children are blessings and they now have 3 of them. A preteen, a grade-schooler, and a newborn. You would think this was a recipe for the perfect family story, but life doesn’t always go the way you plan it. Less than a year after giving birth to their 3rd child, tragedy struck Jennifer’s spouse, and he suddenly passed away. She was forced to try to pick up the pieces with no instruction manual. How do you survive in a country you aren’t from, with no family, no resources, and no clue how to raise 3 children at very different stages of their lives alone? Jennifer was always a genuine person and that paid dividends during her early years of adulthood in the States. Rather than go back to England she forged relationships and friendships with people who she would lean on for support. Over the course of the next few years various friends would allow Jennifer and her children into their home. This gave her the opportunity to make a way and raise her children no matter the obstacles. In some ways this was the beginning of Jennifer’s Family Homes. See, the home wasn’t just the walls, the roof, and the windows and the doors they were living in. It was her children and the friend’s generosity as well. The people she chose and the ones who chose her. The first family homes Jennifer had been a part of were the ones that she herself needed. Those same changes in living conditions allowed her to eventually become a homeowner herself. Now Jennifer had a place she could call her own to see her family prosper. Jennifer’s daughter Davene never got the opportunity to grow up with her father. Her entire life was supposed to be marked by uncertainty because of the loss their family suffered at her very beginning. In her formative years she was always with Jennifer, and she observed her mother pivot after pivot after pivot after pivot. Constantly figuring out where to go next. Living in different homes that weren’t their own. Going to church and relying on faith even when a different life seemed unlikely. She watched Jennifer constantly make ends meet. Even with the odds stacked against them, they didn’t just survive…..they thrived. Before she knew it, life was abundant. Jennifer worked her way into becoming an established woman through sheer perseverance, vision, connection, hard work and desire. She didn’t attain all that she did just for herself. After all, she grew up with parents who extended their home and resources to others just because that’s the type of people they were and Jennifer has always been every bit her parents’ daughter. Since apples tend not to fall very far from the tree so was Davene. As Davene began to have friends of her own, she found herself feeling deeply connected to them. She listened to them and found that some of her friends had familial struggles and didn’t always have living arrangements that were conducive to flourishing. She would speak to Jennifer about her friends and before you knew it Jennifer would open her home to Davene’s friends. Jennifer didn’t see it as a sacrifice, or an inconvenience. She simply knew that she could provide assistance. The same way her parents had done before her. The same way her friends had done for her when she was a newly single mother of 3. Davene had a friend who had been out of group homes and never had a place where she could witness love and feel it. Jennifer’s house was a place where she could experience that. Another of Davene’s friend’s family split up after the loss of their caretaker. She came to live with them and truly became family. Calling her Davene’s friend would be an understatement. In time they came to know each other as sisters. That same girl stayed with Jennifer and Davene until she was able to have a family of her own. See in a funny way Jennifer’s story has always been a story about fruit. Everything in Jennifer’s life wasn’t ideal. It wasn’t as straightforward as turning lemons into lemonade. That didn’t stop her from making lemonade though. No matter the environment or the obstructions, Jennifer turned it all into a positive. She found a way and then made a way so that she could give back. More importantly Jennnifer takes the time to pay it forward and I know this because I was once one of the fruits of Jennifer’s story and now, I’m the Executive Director of Jennifer’s Family Homes. I share Jennifer’s love for helping and providing stability in lives that may at times be chaotic. After all, I am my mother’s daughter. I appreciate Jennifer’s willingness to execute a vision I had to make a legitimate impact in the lives of others just as she did when I was a kid and my friends needed a place to live. She’s enabled me to be as ambitious as I am and to put my best foot forward in all passions that involve aiding others and providing chances to people who just can’t catch a break. That is why we had to do this. That is why this means so much to us. We opened these doors because we once needed the same. We know firsthand what a home, a routine, structure and love can do. We know that FUTURES can be built on the liberality of those in your PRESENT. Jennifer’s Family Homes is a non-profit group home for at risk children in the foster care system. We opened because these kids matter. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to treat you like you matter and remind you that your destiny is important by simply being there. I won’t consider negative alternatives for the kids because the negative isn’t an option. We want to give them their best shot, and we believe we can help them do so. We want to encourage their drive, dreams and creativity. We don’t want them to believe that circumstance drastically limits your options, because it shouldn’t. Not in a world where people help each other. Not in the world we want to be a part of. Not in the world we are trying to help build. Jennifer’s story is my story. Jennifer’s story is their story. Jennifer's story is your story but only if you let it. If we can do some good in this world then we should. Love is an action. I believe that our home will be filled with love. A home that is deliberate about the opportunity it will provide and people who care to see the vision fulfilled. Our plan like it always has been is to take any fruit and make lemonade and give that lemonade to the ones who really need it.