"I had very low self-esteem.  I felt suicidal," Selina says.  Her welfare was not the only concern --- she had two children to worry about.  Seven year-old Ashley and three year-old Brandon would see their mother being hurt, but couldn't do anything to help her.  Ashley kept her pain inside, but young Brandon would bang his head on floors, pillows or walls to express his rage.

A beating that lead her to the emergency room at St. Mary's Hospital changed her life.  The nurse handed Selina a card with information and numbers to call to find help in an abusive relationship.  She picked up the phone and called Tucson Centers for Women and Children (TCWC).

"I thank God I went there," Selina says with a sigh.  The center wasn't only a safe haven for her and her children, it also was a learning and growing experience that helped this family begin its recovery.

While Selina attended classes on domestic violence, son Brandon was going through the Therapeutic Children's Program.  The three-year-old began to learn how to express his feelings through words, not violence.

With 14 counts of domestic violence against him, José was sent to prison.  But his time is almost up and José will be eligible for parole in November 1999.

But Selina knows she must go on.  She has a job as a quality control inspector at Burr-Brown, and has the kids in school and day care.  She feels so comfortable with TCWC that Ashley and Brandon are in day care at the Angel Center.

One phone call changed her life.  "They gave me back my self-esteem," Selina says. "I was me again."

TUCSON NURSERY SCHOOLS 
AND CHILD CARE CENTERS, INC.

$52,213

Also in 1996, Tucson Nursery Schools and Child Care Centers received $52,213.  The Center provides early intervention preschool programs for "at-risk" children and promotes the importance of positive early childhood experiences, facilitates financial stability and independence through tuition assistance for financially limited families.

Adapted from Tucson Lifestyle
December 1998
Portrait Photos by David Fox