River of Refuge newsletter, January 2024

Extended Stay Helps Father Now Thriving Outside Kansas City

Parents who buckle down and focus on the life-skills courses we teach at River of Refuge are typically ready to move out with their children after no more than six months in our program.

Samuel Payton was as diligent as anyone in absorbing the parenting and budgeting principles imparted by our instructors when he and three of his children lived with us beginning in August 2020. He worked in quality control for a decorative brick company and saved enough to pay off $3,200 from a previous eviction.

But with that eviction blotting his rental history, and with limited take-home pay, Payton struggled to find housing when he was ready to leave. River of Refuge allowed him to stay for a little more than a year until he found an apartment in Independence, Missouri, for himself and his kids.

Payton’s case illustrates the lengths to which River of Refuge is willing to go to help its clients land on their feet, and his success since leaving the program demonstrates how River of Refuge changes lives.

Asked recently about his experience at River of Refuge, Payton said he was trying not to tear up when talking about the support he received from Executive Director Pam Seymour, Case Manager Dianna Poston, and Program Director Jacki Ezell, who recently retired.

“Those three ladies have the biggest hearts ever,” he said.

Payton said that the way his life was upon entering River of Refuge it was almost like the three women rescued him from a car wreck.

Payton grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, and survived several gunshots from high-powered weapons. He did not want that environment for his kids, and enough was enough for Payton after a shooting at their apartment complex.

Payton had reconnected with a girl from high school, and about eight months ago he and the kids joined her in Nashville, Tennessee. They live about 25 miles southeast of the city in a house that rents for $2,200 a month.

Payton is making $22 an hour driving a forklift at a Nissan car plant, the kids are in school, they have found a church, and the area is beautiful, Payton said.

Along with his family in Kansas City, he misses the support network he found with Seymour, Poston, and Ezell. “They will forever be in my heart,” he said.

 

Families, Staff Sled Away Winter Blues

Old Man Winter hasn’t done Kansas City any favors in the first weeks of the new year. Snow, ice, Arctic blasts … we’ve had it all. The best you can do is maintain a sunny disposition, and our staff did their part one day this month by organizing (and taking part in) a sledding outing on our property for families that were home during a snow day.

As we reported on Facebook: “A good time was had by all & there were no mishaps reported.”

 

FROM THE DIRECTOR

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and your year is off to a good start.

We had a great time celebrating the holidays with our families, and it is hard to imagine our year getting off to a better start. We had our first family graduate in mid-January — which is special enough — but it is a touching extra step from the mom that warmed our hearts.

A couple of weeks before graduation, she wrote an incredibly inspirational and heartfelt message to the staff and other ROR families. She posted the four-page note (pictured below) on the bulletin board that hangs inside the family entrance to our building.

As staff, we loved the kind words and the appreciation for our work. We are committed to our families because we know that the lessons we instill change lives. Seeing families succeed is why we do what we do.

But it was the mom’s encouragement to the other ROR families that made her message extra special.

“Please never risk your shelter for your family just to backslide and go back to your old habits,” she wrote. “It’s not worth it. Think before you do anything. Your children are (your) Top Priority.”

We consider River of Refuge a community. Our program is so much richer when families bond and help each other out.

The family that graduated included mom, dad, and six kids ranging in age from four to 16. They were here a little more than five months.

Upon entry to the program, mom was not working outside the home. When they left, she had a part-time job. In other successes, they:

• Saved $11,388
• Paid off debt of $1,402
• Purchased a dependable car and paid cash for it
• Learned new parenting techniques, life skills, and budgeting and have applied them to their new life
• River of Refuge will continue to follow up with this family every six months for the next two years to ensure that they are successful. They can continue to access the services provided while working the program, except for housing. We are so very proud of this family.

We currently have three more families graduating in the next two months and more working the program that will graduate at different times this year.

We look forward to telling you more about these families’ successes in the months to come!

Until Next Time,
Pamela Seymour, Executive Director