Wrapped in dignity: How a mother found her voice

This paid piece is sponsored by LSS.

Allison calls it a “family sickness.”

Substance use was a part of her family history long before she developed an addiction of her own. Growing up, she witnessed patterns of addiction among loved ones, including her grandfather, who passed away just this year because of alcohol-related complications.

In 2021, in the midst of her decade-long battle with meth use, Allison hit what she describes as “rock bottom.”

Her children — now 7 and 9 years old —were placed in foster care, and she found herself facing an uncertain future. With limited support and difficult circumstances surrounding her past relationship and domestic violence, she felt increasingly alone.

“I needed to beg for my life because no one was gonna come and save me,” Allison said.

Determined to make a change, she accepted a ride from her grandmother and left behind the only life she had ever known. With just seven outfits in her suitcase, she moved to Sioux Falls, unsure of what the future would hold.

Upon arrival, Allison entered a residential treatment program for drug addiction, committing herself to nine months of intensive recovery. When treatment ended and she was rehabilitated, she was reunited with her children. It was the moment she had longed for — but adjusting to normalcy proved to be more difficult than she had imagined.

As she worked to rebuild her life, Allison faced the overwhelming challenge of not only processing her recovery but also helping her children heal from the trauma they had endured. Her children were struggling, and when their behavior became unmanageable, she didn’t know where to turn. She hesitated to reach out for help, afraid that doing so might disrupt the stability she had been working so hard to build for her children.

She called counselors and reached out to the treatment center, searching for guidance. But each time she asked for help, she was met with uncertainty — no one seemed to have the right answers, and the available resources and programs didn’t quite fit her situation.

Desperate for acceptance and to be treated with dignity, Allison reached out to LSS about the CARES Wraparound program — and for the first time, she found a support system that felt different from anything she had encountered before.

“When you come out of a system like treatment and you actually want to get better, a lot of people don’t believe you,” she explained. “I just needed someone to believe me, and LSS did. And they’ve been with me 100 percent since then.”

The first of its kind in South Dakota, the LSS CARES Wraparound program is an evidence-based program that collaborates with families to identify needs, establish a comprehensive care plan and connect them to resources to meet the needs of each family member.

During a time when they need it most, families find guidance and support from wraparound specialists, also known as care coordinators, who walk with them, step by step, helping them navigate challenges, set goals and build a network of support. Most importantly, they often step in before crises escalate, preventing issues like out-of-home placements, truancy and law enforcement involvement.

Allison and her care coordinator came up with a step-by-step care plan and worked through it together. The process and the care from the Wraparound team made Allison feel like she could speak openly about her challenges without fear of ridicule or judgment.

“When there’s a whirlwind of looking for how to fix things now, there’s solutions and opportunities or ideas that, as a parent, when you’re in that cyclone of chaos, you can’t always think of,” Allison said.

Since finding CARES Wraparound, Allison’s family has received invaluable practical support. The team helped her connect with a school counselor to ensure her kids were getting support at school. They assisted her in getting her son on medication for his oppositional defiant disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. She has worked with financial counselors to improve her credit, which had suffered during her struggle with addiction. They also provided structures, like chore charts, to bring order to her household.

But perhaps the most profound impact LSS has had on Allison is giving her the confidence and support to manage challenging situations on her own. Staff taught her healthy coping mechanisms, how to stay calm in stressful situations and how to connect with her children at their level. She’s now understanding that she can be the parent her kids need without having to do everything perfectly.

“I think the biggest thing they’ve let me do is fail but then figure out how to make it right — how to fix it or how to find a better way to solve the issue. And that’s been huge because I’ve never had a mom figure to do that for me.”

Allison said LSS has helped her feel reassured in her decision-making as a mother. And the reassurance she feels is reflected in the ways her children are learning to trust her.

“My daughter called me her protector for the first time since I’ve had her back. So I hear that in my head over and over, and it sometimes feels like everything is made,” she said.

A key component of the CARES Wraparound program is preparing families to thrive even after the formal support ends. Looking ahead, Allison hopes to find a community — like a church — that can help her family put down roots in Sioux Falls, start fresh and find the people who will support them as they continue to grow.

“I can just see how much she really cares about her kids and how much she truly wants a better life for them,” Allison’s care coordinator said. “The progress she’s made with her kids — how they’ve grown and how she’s worked through their behaviors with them — it’s just amazing to see how much growth she’s experienced.”

As Allison points out, many women face similar challenges, and finding the right support can make all the difference.

“It ended up becoming my own plan without much involvement from LSS because it was based on my wants and needs. That was really important. As a parent with no control, there has to be some kind of baseline, but nobody else was allowing me to have that.”

For anyone in a similar position, Allison has a simple message: If you’re ready and need help, pick up the phone and call. LSS will be there.

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