Cassidy and Jacob came to the Walla Walla Family Resource Center’s Early Head Start (EHS) home visiting program as brand new parents of an infant girl, Coraline.

They were receiving assistance from the Department of Social and Health Services and both parents were in recovery from past drug use.

The couple worked closely with their EHS home visitor around budgeting and saving money. They discussed what goals they could set that they could realistically achieve and the home visitor consistently supported them in those goals.

“Our home visitor was a perfect match for us,” said Cassidy. “She listened to us, was respectful and had similar experiences. She always gave us information that was in line with our parenting style.”

Jacob secured a full-time job working the graveyard shift and Cassidy worked odd jobs occasionally when she had help with child care. They paid off their debt and began saving money so they could move.

Moving meant a better, safer situation not only for Cora, as she would have more space to play, but it would also support her parents by removing many societal triggers that could potentially contribute to a relapse into addiction.

After saving for many months, and with some family support, the family moved to another community. Jacob is employed full time; Cassidy sells health care products from home and they rent their own apartment. Cora continues to thrive.

At 16 months old, Cora is strong with her fine-motor skills; and her parents love to play and support her development by giving her opportunities to problem solve.

“Cora amazes me every day,” Cassidy said. “We just put together a ride-on car for her, and she was able to help. She is very smart and can figure things out on her own.”

Meagan Anderson-Pira is the director for services in Walla Walla County.