Page 35 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2018

BACK BAY MISSION improving our community
Changing Lives
IS
T imes they are a changin.” Indeed, nothing else is as consistent in our
lives as change. Changing the course of one’s life takes time and requires patience.
Each day we see the small changes made by our clients that move them forward to making major changes in the quality of their lives.
One woman, with a serious heart condition and other health concerns who is caring for her granddaughter while her daughter works, meets with our Community Health Worker for support and information as she negotiates medical resources. She found some discarded canvases and began to paint her feelings on canvas. This small change helps her be more emotionally available
to her granddaughter as she deals with her health challenges.
Two homeless clients unable to live alone due to mental and physical disabilities used the resources in the Micah Center to prepare themselves for housing. Both have now been housed and are assured of having the physical and mental health support needed.
In 2015, a couple living in a truck received rental assistance for five months and then over time with case management support increased their income and employment status to the point that in 2018 they are moving into a larger apartment that can accommodate visits with grandchildren.
Back Bay Mission does not take a cookie cutter approach to helping clients, but collaborates with each client to determine what needs to happen to change the trajectory
ALICE GRAHAM, PH.D.
of their lives. Client by client, step by step lives are being transformed. Change happens as Back Bay Mission rebuilds a home that lifts the burden off the family, or teaches an individual how to break free of the hold of poverty to become self-sustainable, or is able to place a homeless person in a home with continued support to become a contributing citizen.
We listen to the challenges that confront our clients as they seek resources to survive homelessness, low wages, mental/ physical disabilities, aging and a range of chronic diseases. Change happens as we create new approaches
to meeting their immediate needs and then provide resources for addressing their long-term aspirations.
BBM brings over 800 volunteers from all over the nation to learn about our Coast. These volunteers learn from fellow human beings who are working to reclaim their lives and learn what a wonderful community the Coast is.
Munia Kahn writes, “You cannot change any world unless you become a vital part of the changing.” We are being changed as we work to be agents of change.
So, as we do this work of strengthening neighborhoods, seeking justice, and transforming lives, we are moving people towards sustainability. Our goal is for each person to become able to contribute to the community in a meaningful way.
This work cannot continue without community support. Please look within your heart and give what you can to help support and improve our community one person, family and home at a time.
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story by Alice Graham, Ph.D. photo by Neil Ladner
Executive Director, Back Bay Mission
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