Jasmyn’s Journey
An inspiring true story of perseverance, determination, and hope.
PART 1 | Meet ‘Jasmyn’
‘Jasmyn’ thought she was going into an independent living program. But her case worker decided that because of her trauma, history of abuse, and potential risks, ‘Jasmyn’ needed to be in the Residential Treatment Program at Wedgwood.
‘Jasmyn’ was not particularly happy about that. At 17 years old, she was sure that she was ready for independent living.
When she arrived at Wedgwood, she was actually quite angry.
She had a tough exterior; lots of piercings, face that was almost always scowling, and an attitude that screamed, “leave me alone.” In her young life she had unfortunately earned the right to be mad.
People had let her down. They had abused, mistreated, and hurt her. They had lied to her about who she was and who she could be. Past experiences told her she couldn’t trust anyone, and she should handle things by herself.
On more than one occasion, the staff members in the program ‘Jasmyn’ found herself in heard her say,
“I don’t even know why I need to be here. I should be on my own.”
As they worked on getting ‘Jasmyn’ acclimated to the program and life at Wedgwood, the team also frequently heard her say things like “I don’t need a degree” and “School isn’t for me, because I’m dumb.”
The sad reality was that people in ‘Jasmyn’s’ past had told her over and over again that she was dumb, and worthless, and not good enough. This trauma impacted her self-esteem, her ability to see a future for herself, and very notably her education.
Students in Wedgwood’s Residential Program need 18.5 credits to graduate high school. When ‘Jasmyn’ arrived at Wedgwood at the age of 17 years old (a high school senior), she had only 4.5 credits.
“Jasmyn’ had convinced herself that she could never make up all those credits, so what was the point of trying? Why even bother thinking about, or working toward a diploma?
But the team working with ‘Jasmyn’ knew better. Because here at Wedgwood, we are in the business of hope.
'Jasmyn' learns a lot
It was no secret that ‘Jasmyn’ was behind in school.
When she arrived to Wedgwood’s Residential Program at 17 years old, she had 4.5 of the 18.5 credits needed to graduate. She’d convinced herself that it wasn’t worth it to try and catch up – people in her past had told her over and over she was too dumb, anyway.
‘Jasmyn’ was not particularly happy about that. At 17 years old, she was sure that she was ready for independent living.
But ‘Jasmyn’ had never had people like the Wedgwood staff in her corner before.
It took a fair amount of encouragement and convincing to get ‘Jasmyn’ to consider trying to make up her school credits. But between the staff gently and consistently reminding her of the benefits of getting her diploma and ‘Jasmyn’s’ desire to participate in the Employment Training Program, she decided to give it a go.
One completed assignment turned into another, and another, and a passed quiz, and a good grade on a paper. The successes started rolling in, and ‘Jasmyn’ started seeing progress. Shatoya, her Education Specialist, kept telling her she was capable, smart, and worth the effort –
and ‘Jasmyn’ began believing her.
These successes certainly did not come without a great deal of effort – from ‘Jasmyn’ or her team. Being so far behind, ‘Jasmyn’ really needed a lot more 1:1 instruction than she could get during the school day. The team helped her with assignments. They found her tutors for math and chemistry. They added people to ‘Jasmyn’s’ schedule, to her support team, to help her achieve her goals.
The days when she had to miss a group activity to do homework, or test scores came back lower, or the credits weren’t adding up like she was expecting really got ‘Jasmyn’ down. It seemed like her incredible amount of work wasn’t paying off. At one point she even wrote the team a letter saying she was done. “You can’t make me do this” she wrote to the staff members.
Ms. Marie has worked in Residential treatment long enough to know that telling kids what they should do is not always the most effective method. So when ‘Jasmyn’ gave her this letter, Ms. Marie simply asked –
“Are you sure that’s what you want to do? We’ll guide you, we’ll give you the tools. But it’s up to you.”
For a girl who’d experienced so much disappointment and hurt from other people, ‘Jasmyn’ was used to doing things on her own.
But at Wedgwood she was surrounded by people who wanted nothing more than to help her – and these people actually did help her. And not only did they help her, they cared about her. As a person.
After some thought, and reminders of how far she’d come, what she could do with a diploma, (and that putting forth effort in school was a requirement for participation in the Employment Training Program she loved so much), ‘Jasmyn’ decided to keep working on her education.
‘Jasmyn’s’ confidence was growing. She was more accepting of help and open to trying new things. The graduation date was on the calendar, and the number of credits she’d earned continued to grow.
PART 3 | Celebrating 'jasmyn'
As ‘Jasmyn’ was working on earning her high school credits, she was also participating in all the other aspects of Wedgwood’s Residential Program. One of the main components of her program was trauma-informed therapy to help her process the abuse and neglect she experienced, separate who she is from the lies she had been told, and develop healthy coping strategies.
She worked with Kali, one of Wedgwood’s Residential Therapists. And Kali noticed when ‘Jasmyn’ was focusing on school. Kali could see that ‘Jasmyn’ was starting to accept help and trust again. ‘Jasmyn’ was making serious progress in therapy – she was able to go beyond identifying problems, emotions, triggers, and behaviors and she was thinking about solutions and next steps. Her self-esteem was blooming.
In the Employment Training Program, she was recognized for her great work, moved into higher levels of participation, and gained valuable experience working with a team.
She served as her program’s representative for student counsel.
The girl who had convinced herself she was dumb was helping to represent and lead her peers.
Things were really looking up for ‘Jasmyn’, but it was starting to look like she might not meet her goal of having her 18.5 credits in time for the graduation ceremony.
But before ‘Jasmyn’ had time to feel too defeated, the Wedgwood team – Shatoya, Ms. Marie, Kali, and others – met with the school to get things figured out.
The day before the graduation ceremony, it was official.
‘Jasmyn’ was going to walk across that stage, get her diploma, and graduate high school!
This was an occasion that deserved celebration! Ms. Marie organized graduation photos for ‘Jasmyn’, contacted the few people in her life outside of Wedgwood that cared for and supported her, and got a cake.
At graduation, there was a crowd of Wedgwood team members, tutors, peers, her Grandpa, and her case worker there to cheer her on. ‘Jasmyn’ walked across the stage, and the face that was stuck in scowl just six months ago was grinning ear to ear – beaming – as she accepted her diploma. (Isn’t that amazing?!) Then, the principal called her back on stage and asked her to share a bit about her story.
A little surprised, but honored – and too excited to care – ‘Jasmyn’ told the crowd how she got to this moment.
She talked about how Wedgwood truly cared about her.
She expressed her gratitude for the team of staff members and tutors who surrounded her with support. She thanked Ms. Marie and Kali for encouraging her, and she thanked Shatoya for never giving up on her and always believing in her.
“When Shatoya told me I could do it – I actually believed her. Thank you for everything!”
Shortly after graduation, ‘Jasmyn’ transitioned out of Wedgwood’s Residential Program into her next chapter, into her future that is full of possibilities.
A future that ‘Jasmyn’ couldn’t fathom when she arrived at Wedgwood six months ago.
‘Jasmyn’ is one of the thousands of lives transformed at Wedgwood Christian Services because of people like you. Your support directly impacts kids like ‘Jasmyn’ – giving them a future full of hope. There are nearly 500 children, right now, in Michigan waiting for a place to go to begin healing.
Will you please prayerfully consider a gift today?
Your support ensures Michigan children – who have experienced immense trauma, such as mental health crises or abuse/neglect – have access to the treatment, support services, and caring people that can help restore their physical, social, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
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Celebrate with us
Celebrate the thousands of lives that have been transformed during Wedgwood's 63rd Anniversary Celebration. Hear directly from Pauline, who is a former client, as she shares how Wedgwood helped her during her healing journey
October 5th
G.R. Public Museum
Pauline Irving
Special Guest & Former Resident
