My Life's Journey: A New Chapter
by Cathy Moore, a parent in the Cuyahoga Tapestry
System of Care



In the beginning of 2001, I was enjoying the fact that all my children were grown and gone. I thought I had it 'going on'. Working two jobs, bowling three nights a week and traveling. I was doing me! I had the apartment all to myself and I was 'living the life of Riley'. But all that changed the following year.

My stepfather's death seemed to foreshadow an awful and tumultuous chapter looming over my life. His passing left me heartbroken, but my mother was devastated. She was now single and raising four of her grandchildren, three girls and one boy. The fact that the children were "special needs" kids with multiple and severe emotional problems made matters more complicated. My mother, although tough, needed help. In 2003 she underwent open-heart surgery. I decided to move back home with mom because she needed help.

When it rains ... it pours! Early in 2004, we were stunned to find out that my mother had ovarian cancer. And if that weren't enough, in June she suffered a stroke. Then in September we learned the cancer has metastasized to stage three (3). Ironically, my mother died January 4, 2005, on her birthday. The family was devastated. Her death was a catastrophic loss for me personally. My world seemed to fall apart.

I promised my mother that I would look after the children. But I had no idea what was in store for me. Yes, I had raised my own children to adulthood, but nothing could have prepared me for what was to follow. Because they were special needs, I had no direction or guidance. I didn't know where to turn or what to do. And, to make matters worse, I had become unemployed.

Every day, frustrated school administrators called me demanding that I come to get the kids because of disciplinary problems. Their lying, stealing and truancy drove home the fact that the situation was out of control. It seemed that daily I would ask myself, "What in the world have I gotten myself into?" I desperately reached out for help, and PEP Tapestry, a pioneering part of what would become the Cuyahoga Tapestry System of Care, was there.

The Tapestry professionals helped us to develop coping strategies and make better choices. I learned that PEP Tapestry is part of the Hough Collaborative, which is made up of over 30 community and county agencies including Jamaa To Jamaa, Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), and Cleveland UMADAOP, all dedicated to helping families and individuals. This same community collaborative now employs me.

I am more productive and self-sufficient, and the children are benefiting as well. They are learning that regardless of any so-called limitations or obstacles, they can achieve their goals in life.

Although this has been a difficult chapter in my life, my crew and me are getting better now. Yes, some days are harder than others, but you know what? I think we're ready to move on to the next chapter.

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