“Rock bottom with no way up or out.” That’s what *Chance and *Emily said about their lives a year ago.

Desperation was their constant companion, and Simon* and Jennie* – their two special needs children – were caught in the crossfire. The more they tried to do the right thing, the harder life became.

Simon, their first born, faced severe autism, while Jennie had multiple medical issues at birth. Caring for them became relentless, with endless doctor’s visits, medication routines, teacher meetings, and no time for themselves.

Struggling to cope, they started using drugs just to make it through one more day. It seemed to make things go smoother, but that was an illusion. It made their home unsafe, and the children were removed.

Chance and Emily thought it was the end and the worst day of their lives. They had let their children down.

In the words of Chance and Emily, “We knew when our children were placed in foster care, with their various medical issues, that it would nearly impossible to keep them together.”

And they were right.

The safest loving, kind, and supportive placement was in two different foster homes with many miles between them. The distance and lack of transportation made it difficult for Chance and Emily to visit the children often.

Chance and Emily were caring and compassionate parents. They just didn’t have the tools to cope. They proved they cared by overcoming their obstacles to visit both of the children as much as possible.

The ‘village’ at Safe Children Coalition – the Reunification Team – has wrapped their arms around getting this family back together.

Without help, Chance and Emily couldn’t complete their case plan to get their children back home.

From the family support worker who goes above and beyond to transport them to visitation appointments to the loving and kind foster parents who make frequent visitation possible to the caseworkers who answer Chance and Emily’s every question – the determination of the team to get Jennie and Simon back home is nothing short of remarkable.

As parents, Chance and Emily are compassionate and open to every support and nugget of advice to help them reunite their family. And they have kept every visitation appointment. No exceptions. No excuses.

Chance and Emily had their first unsupervised visit with the children a few months ago.

On one of those car rides for visitation, Chance and Emily confided, “A year ago, we didn’t think we would ever be able to have our children back home.”

Before Safe Children Coalition, Chance and Emily lacked support and resources to help them with housing referrals, accountability to stay sober, and Jennie and Simon’s medical care.

If the opposite of rock bottom is top of the mountain, that’s where Chance and Emily were a few weeks ago on Reunification Day – the day Jennie and Simon came home for good.

Today, thanks to the ‘village’ at Safe Children Coalition, Chance and Emily can see their way to the best for their children.

Because of the ‘village’ at Safe Children Coalition, Jennie and Simon returned to a safe, nurturing home with more capable parents. Life will always be a challenge caring for two special needs children, but now Chance and Emily have new coping tools.

When this story started, the situation looked hopeless, but because Safe Children Coalition never gives up, Jennie and Simon are back home where they belong.