A Season of Stability

Adrian has been through her fair share of stressful times, but despite any stressful and unprecedented circumstances, she has persevered to find stability for her and her five children.

A Season of Stress

Adrian and her children Jaydin, 11, Mikah, 9, Zaihre, 8, and Bella, 5, moved from Texas in March of 2019 when her husband found out he had to go on trial in his home state of Colorado.

After making the move, Adrian, who was then pregnant with her youngest son Legend, was living with her husband and children in hotel rooms from March to July of 2019. “It was stressful because we also had two of my step kids [with us], and so it was kind of crazy,” she said. “I had to quit [my job at] Krispy Kreme because I couldn’t be at work at six in the morning when the kids had to be at school by 7:30 a.m.”

In July of 2019, they came to The Crossing, the Mission’s transitional living facility, where they were able to receive some needed support. But in December, their life took a turn when Adrian’s husband was found guilty and turned himself in to go to prison.

Fortunately, Adrian was able to secure an apartment for her and her children after staying at the Mission for ten months. Although she was looking forward to a place of her own, caring for five children by herself was going to be a challenge, and when the pandemic hit, Adrian was faced with even more challenges.

“Being in a house with each other for so many months at a time and the kids doing school online at home was really hard,” Adrian said. “It’s been the worst for me I think, with my husband being gone and then not knowing whether my kids would get sick or if I would get sick… It was just too much stress.”

After living in her own place for a year, Adrian found herself back at the Mission in May of 2021 when her lease ended, and she could no longer afford to live in her apartment.

A Season of Support

In need of extra support, Adrian’s mother moved from Alabama with her ten-year-old daughter Lauren to help with the kids while Adrian’s husband serves time in prison.

Adrian, her five children and her ten-year-old sister, Lauren

“It felt good [when my mom came] because, shoot, I needed the help,” Adrian said. “I’m normally doing [things] by myself, so it does make a difference when there’s somebody there to support you.”

Not only has Adrian found support from her mother, but she has found support at the Mission through the Broncos Room—a youth room where kids can receive tutoring, go to Bible studies, have recreation time, and interact with other kids living at The Crossing. Staff in the youth room, Joe and Reshae, know it may take a while for some kids to feel comfortable in the Broncos Room, but that over time kids learn to trust that they’re in a safe space where they get to enjoy being a kid.

“I think at first [kids] just want to feel it out and see whether or not we’re a safe [place] emotionally and spiritually,” Joe said. “At first that’s usually the biggest challenge, helping them to learn that the Broncos Room culture is one of respect, responsibility and safety.”

The Broncos Room is a place of safety, but it also serves as a place where kids get to grow and mature academically, socially and emotionally—and Adrian’s children are no exception. Joe and Reshae have seen Mikah and Bella mature by their willingness to do their work without complaining and have appreciated Zaihre’s willingness to help.

“Zaihre always asks if she can help. Whenever [kids] help in the Broncos Room, they usually get Bronco dollars, but she just does it because she wants to, and she does a really good job too,” Joe said. “She’ll go around and ask if we need anything else before she leaves. She’s always trying to do all the chores because she just wants to help,” Reshae added.

The Broncos Room serves as an outlet for kids, but it also serves as an outlet for parents who could use the extra support during a challenging time of life. “The Broncos Room has really made the biggest difference,” Adrian said. “Being able to take the kids and giving me [and other parents] the time to sit back, get some extra cleaning done and stuff like that—we know they’re safe there and that makes a difference.”

Broncos Holiday Party

Christmas for the youth at The Crossing is a
special time when they get to celebrate our
annual Broncos holiday party. One child said,
“My favorite part was making cookies and the
Broncos coming in and signing our shirts.”

Adrian and her children were able to move into a new apartment in October of 2021 where they look forward to spending the holidays.

“I’m going to be so happy, it’s like I can actually have my own space,” Mikah said.

“I’m excited because I get my new room and I’m going to share it with my sister,” Bella said.

As for Adrian, she is looking forward to getting her GED and improving her credit score so that by next year they can hopefully move into a house. But most importantly, she hopes to grow in her relationship with God and to become closer as a family.

“I want to have a closer relationship with God. We used to say the ‘our Father prayer’ every single night and then when COVID hit, things changed,” she said. “I think I’m to blame, not that I lost my faith, but I felt like I slipped back a little bit.”

Being the main parent figure for her five children has been difficult, but Adrian is grateful to the Mission for supporting her and her kids as they have had to navigate their new normal. She can’t wait for her husband to be able come back, but for now she is thankful to those at the Mission for stepping in to provide extra support.

“[I’ve learned] not to take things for granted because you just never know which way life could turn,” Adrian said. “And if we didn’t have donors, I don’t know if Denver Rescue Mission would even [exist], so I am just grateful.”