Mariana and richard

Our family was struck hard last year, having to make the hardest decision of our life by sending both children to a residential program across the country.

We knew the Turn-About-Ranch program was about 100 days long and decisions had to be made fast. We were looking to relocate and this was the time to do it. Without hesitation we put our home up for sale and started the job hunt.

A blink later and we were driving across the country with a trailer, bringing everything we could. We had a three month lease on a home which was triple our mortgage in Vermont. Upon arrival to Salt Lake we had 24 hours to set up a home for the children and get ready for the transition team. We were familiar with Homeward Bound, and thought, who better than them? But funds were nearly exhausted.

Just when we were running out of options due to daunting costs, The Basket came along and we felt, once again, God’s love and blessing upon this family who fled across the country to save the children.

Thanks to the Basket Fund, we are better equipped to continue rowing forward and we take our challenges one day at a time. We are aware that the road is long but we now have HOPE.

To the family that started this Basket Fund: May God Bless you for your generosity. Words are not enough to express our gratitude.

Mariana and Richard

(Vermont, 2019)

cathy and shane

After sending our son to a residential treatment program, we were emotionally and financially drained. As graduation approached, we were frightened at the thought of coming home without guidance. We knew we weren’t going to be able to replicate what the program had been giving him. How were we possibly going to transition him home, without undoing the hard work we had all done? We were more afraid of that, I realized, than the experience of sending our son away in the first place.

Along came Homeward Bound. We knew right away that the answer to our transition would be to use the services they provided, but how could we possibly afford it? We had depleted our resources, and then some. It was heartbreaking, absolutely devastating to know that we needed as a family, and what our son needed to finish the last leg of his race, was right there in front of us, and yet outside our financial reach.

One evening, in one of our online video chats, we were offered an opportunity of a lifetime… The Basket. We couldn’t believe what we were hearing. We had a chance to further help our son, and our family to heal. We were restored with hope! It was another answer to our prayers…another example that we could give our son of the miraculous ways that God was working in our lives, as he didn’t feel that God was even showing up. Here he was!

With much gratitude,

Cathy and Shane

(Washington, 2019)

Sara and Brent

2020 has been painful as we began by taking our 16 year old daughter to the hospital which was followed by an in-patient stay of two weeks. We were not aware of wilderness programs or Homeward Bound at the time and were terrified to bring her home. We wished we had someone who could guide us through all of the testing and trials that were to come. We felt abandoned and alone and trudged through months of anxiety, worry and fear trying to manage things on our own.

In March, the pandemic struck and I was laid off from my job while enduring some of our daughter’s most challenging times yet. A couple months later, I happened to find Tim Thayne’s book, “Not by Chance”. It was the guidance, education and direction we needed now that our daughter was home from the hospital. Homeward Bound sounded like an answer to our prayers. However, due to many hospital bills and now being unemployed, it was financially unfeasible and we resigned to follow the book’s guidance on our own.

Despite our efforts, we again had to take our daughter to the hospital and faced another stay at an in-patient facility. We knew this would lead us right back to where we had been and was not the path we wanted. We decided to do whatever it took to enter the Homeward Bound program despite the financial strain. Upon enrolling, we were surprised with the gift of “The Basket”. It lifted an enormous weight and allowed us to move forward with less worry and fear. It was an invisible gift of grace that we could feel instantly and we are so grateful.

We are now near completion of the program and it has been more than worth it! Our gratitude and love goes out to the people who provided this amazing gift. Please know what a deep impact it has made on all our lives.

With so much love and gratitude,

Sara and Brent

(Minnesota, 2020)

Lindsey and justin

Like many other families, the Covid 19 pandemic has presented us with trials that we never imagined we’d have to face. As a military family we pride ourselves on being flexible, resilient and supportive of one another. One of the most painful experiences has been watching the decline of our oldest child’s mental health. During this unprecedented period of uncertainty and isolation, we’ve done our best to help keep the anxiety and depression at bay. First with medication and therapy, then turning to acute hospitalizations, a partial hospitalization program, and a short-term residential stay. None of it has been enough.

Out of desperation we turned to an Educational Consultant for recommendations and they believed that Homeward Bound’s early intervention program might be just the thing to avoid a higher level of care. As a single income family of six, we were hesitant about the financial commitment, but it sounded exactly like what our family had been needing so we decided to take the chance.

We are now several weeks into our journey with Homeward Bound and have been pleasantly surprised with how seamlessly our family coach fit right in during our three-day intensive visit. She not only coaxed our teen to open up and engage in some vulnerable conversations but picked up on intricate family dynamics. We are finally feeling a sense of hope and relief that has been missing for a long time.

We are exceedingly grateful to The Basket Fund as it not only lifted a weight off our shoulders but gave us a feeling of connection to those who have traveled this difficult road before us. Thank you all for your generosity toward those of us who are still in the thick of it and looking for light wherever we may find it.

Lindsey and Justin

(Texas, 2022)