I can't remember when I was little.
I love my mommy because...
She reads me stories.
With the help of community partnerships, the Ounce of prevention fund is able to offer home visiting services
to nearly 2,000 illinois families.
But what's a home visit and why are they important?
Today No Small Matter is on the south side of Chicago just to find out why.
Let's get started!
Hi!
Hey!
How are you?
Great! How are you guys?
I’m fine.
I came here to hang out and do our home visit. Is that cool?
Yes.
My name is Rachel.
I'm Shaunee.
Nice to meet you.
I'm Danea.
Hi Danea nice to meet you.
Hi Keremiah nice to meet you.
How long have you guys all been together?
I’ve been in the program since Keremiah was what, two? One? I think she was one.
She was one and you were 15.
I was, yes, and she was one, yeah.
Wow. And now you are finishing high school and you are ready for college?
This is amazing. So they’ve really been there for the entire journey. Yeah.
We do, we talk, and conversing about things going on with the mom, and the child.
And then we do a parent-child activity and Keremiah always wanted me to join in, so I already know the routine.
We encourage reading and
She loves to read.
Right? She really loves it.
So we send books home, we get books, and you see how she just brought out all her books?
Yes, she loves to read.
And then how often do you visit this family?
Once a week. I get to spend time with Keremiah one on one.
So what changes have you seen on your end?
A lot.
Yes, a lot. She’s always been patient, she’s always been a great mom.
She has so much patience. I always told her that she was always good with Keremiah, like,
Telling her, you know, encouraging her with different things. You can do it, try this, try that
Because Keremiah is really shy, so...
What has the experience been on your end? What have you really gained and taken away from this...
This awesome, awesome program.
I've gained a lot of wisdom.
For some reason, it’s so funny, it’s like wisdom is the key to make sure that she's not
out here being wild, you know, just kind of mellow,
and you know what you wanna be in life.
Well, I cannot thank you guys enough.
This has been the most, really wonderful experience
Yeah and I feel like even in this hour I learned so much about you, I learned so much about the program. ,
But, what speaks louder than words is just
Seeing The camaraderie and the trust that you have and it's... I mean, your success is so...
It's inspiring and it's easy to see how the Ounce of Prevention is really
just pushed and held your hand this whole way, and this was just the biggest cheerleader.
You guys rock. Alright guys, so I will get out of your hair and let you
get to studying and doing your finals and all of your drawings. It was nice meeting you! Can I get a high five, bye?
I want you to stay.
You want me to stay! I wanna stay, but sadly I have to, I have to go do school stuff, too.
But I really liked hanging out. Can I draw you something before I go?
Yeah.
Alright, it is all ready for you to add
Now can I have my high-five please? Thank you. Alright bye guys, thank you so much!