Social Services

For Rebecca Cox and her children, the Single-Parent Program at Mount Dora Children’s Home is providing stability, love, and hope for a better future. “It [the Single-Parent Program] has helped us out tremendously,” Cox said. “When every other door was being shut, they (MDCH) are the ones who had their arms open for us.” Life started out rough for Cox. She says her birth mother was a drug addict and prostitute. Cox was removed from her mother’s home at age two and placed in foster care. Her birth mother was killed when Cox was only 11. Between ages two and five, Cox said she spent time in 50 foster homes, often separated from her sister. “They moved me all over the place,” Cox said. “I was pretty traumatized from going through all of that at a very young age.” Life took a positive turn for Cox when, at age five, a Christian couple, Randy and Carolyn Cox, from Tavares, adopted her and her sister. She grew up going to church and graduated from Liberty Christian Preparatory School. Like many other teens, Cox got married immediately after high school, which she now says she regrets. It wasn’t long until she gave birth to her first two children, Micah and Malachi. “I was sheltered and didn’t know he had been on drugs,” she said of her husband, adding that the marriage went downhill from there, and she eventually had to escape. In the years since, Cox, now 35, experienced two more marriages that ended badly. She now has a total of five children, ranging in age from five to 14. Four of them are with her in the home she lives in on campus. At a low moment after her last marriage, an attorney suggested she contact Mount Dora Children’s Home. She initially thought she was calling to get help with paying utility bills; however, after meeting with social workers here, she learned about all the benefits of the Single-Parent Program. “The same day he [her ex-husband] shut the lights off on us, Johnnie [social worker Johnnie Coley] called and said, 'We have a place for you.'" I packed up our kids and moved in.”

Since coming to MDCH in August 2021, Cox said that she and her children have enjoyed peace and stability. It’s also been a time of reflection and maturity for her. She said she’s grateful for all of the encouragement, training, and help MDCH provides to her and her family. Among other things, Cox said the Social Services staff at MDCH has shown her how capable she is with God’s help, and that she doesn’t need to rely “on anyone other than Jesus.”

“One of my biggest challenges has been learning to be alone, learning not to be co-dependent on anybody but Jesus,” said Cox, noting that she had been married nearly all of her life since age 18. In hindsight, Cox said she realizes she rushed too quickly into her marriages, failing to take time to get to know the men well enough. “If I ever decide to date again, I’m going to know them for at least two years. I want to know their good, bad, and ugly, and whether they are really a Christian or not. I’m learning to see what I couldn’t see before.” In the year that Cox has been in the Single-Parent Program, she’s kept busy working and studying, making remarkable progress. While working full time at Lake County Schools as a teachers’ assistant, Cox has also taken a full-time load of online college courses through Liberty University. She expects to complete her bachelor’s degree in December, with a major in criminal justice and a minor in Christian counseling. She is also considering more schooling, either a master's in Christian counseling or a law degree. “Families have been my heart,” Cox said in explaining her interest in law school. “I want to fight for people who need their kids or want to get their kids back if they’ve done everything they are supposed to do.” The Single-Parent Program is also helping Cox improve her money management skills and save money for her future. “I’m praying that when I leave here, my credit score will be what it needs to be so I can buy a house. That would be the most amazing thing for me.” Thanks to the Single-Parent Program, Cox is optimistic about the future for her and her children. “I want to take care of my kids and raise them the way Jesus would want me to. That’s my heart’s desire.”

SOCIAL SERVICES Training for Life at MDCH

When a teenager starts asking for healthier food, you know your training is paying off. That’s exactly what happened following a new and innovative 12-week course on healthy lifestyles for the teenage girls who live on campus in the Thompson House. Both single parents and children at Mount Dora Children’s Home have benefited in recent months from an expanded number of innovative training classes. Training is a priority at the Home. It is designed to help build self-confidence and independence and prepare residents for success in their future lives. “We want to teach our residents that education is ongoing and not a one-and-done thing,” said Tonja Rambow, a social worker in Social Services at MDCH. “We teach them that training is built upon a philosophy of life-long learning. We’re always learning, and that helps us have better quality lives. We do it spiritually, and we do it physically. We do it in all aspects of our lives.” Teaching Healthy Lifestyles Teen girls from Thompson House and members of the Social Services staff participated in the 12-week healthy lifestyles course earlier this year. Called the Whole Life Program, it was taught by healthcare professionals from AdventHealth, a faith-based hospital network based in Central Florida. This was the first time this type of program has been offered to any of our residents or employees. “They [AdventHealth] approached wellness in a very holistic way,” Rambow said. “It’s not just physical health, but also spiritual health and emotional health.” Each member of the class received a biometric reading to help assess their current level of health and fitness. Health stats such as blood-sugar levels, blood pressure, and cholesterol were taken to provide a baseline. A healthcare professional met privately with each student to review her results and establish individual goals. Participants received program workbooks and were encouraged to journal daily about their health goals and progress. A life coach facilitated each participant in developing a personalized long-term plan for healthier living. Learning about food and nutrition played a prominent role in the Whole Life Program, ranging from how to read labels and select foods wisely to healthy cooking tips. This segment of the training included a trip to a nearby supermarket to discuss how to select healthy and cost-effective foods. Participants also received water bottles to encourage them to consume more water daily, resistance bands for strength training, sunglasses, hand sanitizer, and a Fitbit type watch as an encouragement to remain focused on their health goals and activity throughout the program. Car and Home Maintenance Properly maintaining one’s car and home can be especially stressful (and costly) for busy single parents. That’s why MDCH recently taught two series of classes to the ladies in our Single-Parent Program, Basic Car Maintenance and Basic Home Maintenance. “Part of the goal of training classes like the home and car maintenance classes is to empower women to realize they can do these things themselves and to become more self-sufficient,” Rambow said, adding that with this knowledge comes higher self-esteem and confidence. For the car maintenance class, students learned how to check fluid levels, fill low tires, change filters, and other basic maintenance tips. At the end of the training, participants were able to practice maintenance tips learned with their own car.

“Everybody brought their cars that day, and we went through the nine checks on their vehicles,” Rambow said. Graduates of these classes received pink tool kits, one was filled with car safety tools, and one was filled with essential home maintenance tools for working around the house. Dealing with Money Budgeting and money management is another topic where we can all benefit from advice from time to time. Retired financial planner Dan Bogeagis recently taught a multi-week class in successful money management for participants in the Home’s Single-Parent Program. For a variety of reasons, sometimes out of their control, many single parents come into our program with low credit scores, high debt, little or no savings, and other financial difficulties. “Money management is an ongoing issue we try to address and one of the biggest challenges the single parents face when they come into the program,” Rambow said. Participants in the Single-Parent Program receive instruction throughout the year to help improve their financial status, including one-onone sessions with a social worker. Single-Parent Parenting The Social Services staff at Mount Dora Children’s Home is always looking for beneficial training opportunities for residents. One popular course offered periodically is a 12week Single & Parenting class. Rambow said the staff hopes to offer that class again in the year ahead.

New House Parents

The girls at the Thompson House have new house parents. Matthew and Adriana Dietrich joined us this summer. They came here from Longmont, Colorado, where they served as house parents at Mountain States Children's Home. "We want to make a difference and have an impact on children's lives," Matt said. "We love the mission at Mount Dora and are looking forward to doing this ministry together. We're all in." Matt is a graduate of Sunset International Bible Institute and previously worked full-time as a minister. Adriana earned a degree in electrical technology from Kirkland Community College in Michigan and has worked as an electrician. Matt and Adriana met at Grayling Church of Christ in Grayling, Michigan, where Matt was preaching, and Adriana was a member. They have been married for about a year and a half and are expecting their first child in late November. At the same time, we want to say thank you and offer God's best blessings to Troy and Rebecca ("Becky") Allen. They left Mount Dora this summer to pursue new opportunities at Clarksville Christian School in Tennessee, where they will be closer to family, including their grandchildren. They have served as house parents for Thompson House since May 2016.