Ryan is a former intern from our Transition Services program. How did Wayfinder help you overcome your biggest obstacle and thrive? I had only experienced my side of being visually impaired. Wayfinder gave me exposure to people with different visual impairments. It gave me an advantage in my master’s program. What does being a Wayfinder mean…
“Many people thought I was going to break when I went into foster care,” says 19-year-old Melanie. “But I knew that I was strong enough to become the person I wanted to be.” At age 15, Melanie entered the child welfare system and was placed with a foster family. “I was nervous and a little…
Frankie knows how children feel when they are suddenly removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect. “You start off scared. You’re being taken out of your home,” he explains. “You’re overwhelmed, you want your mother or father.” Frankie knows this because he lived it. At age 7, he entered foster care due to…
Elena is not yet 2 years old, but she has already battled extreme odds—and won! Elena was born at slightly more than 5 months, weighing only 1 pound, 4 ounces. “She had only a 20% chance of survival,” says Hector, Elena’s dad. After two months in a neonatal intensive care unit, doctors discovered abnormal blood…
In her position, Seana oversees the foster care program in Wayfinder’s Ontario location and runs the adoption program across all offices. Seana has a deep understanding of the struggles and rewards of fostering and adopting children because she has two adopted daughters. After eight years of marriage and no children, Seana was saving for an…
Former Foster Youth in Wayfinder’s Foster Care and Adoption Program When you first came to Wayfinder, what was your biggest obstacle? What did Wayfinder do to help you overcome it and thrive? My biggest obstacle was feeling that nobody heard me or believed me. My social worker helped me. She would talk to me on…
Wayfinder Residential Counselor at The Cottage, a Transitional Shelter Care Program How do you bring Wayfinder Family Services’ mission to life? I show the residents that when you work for something, you will be rewarded. When you help someone, when you show compassion to someone, compassion will come back to you. What does being a…
At age 10, Ryan Fernandez realized he could no longer see on the baseball field. He was diagnosed with Stargardt disease, which causes degeneration of the central visual field. Ryan explains that what he can see 20 feet away is what someone with good vision can see at 250 feet away. He cannot see detail…
One morning, Lorenzo Paz woke up with a pain in his forehead. He thought maybe he had had too much to drink the night before. By the afternoon, the pain was worse. “I went into the hospital walking and came out blind,” Lorenzo remembers. “I got blind in one day.” A freak infection took Lorenzo’s…
Meet Hector and Maria Parents of Elena, a Child in the Early Intervention Program When you first came to Wayfinder, what was your biggest obstacle? What did Wayfinder do to help you overcome it and thrive? Elena was born at 24 weeks. Our biggest worry was, what was she going to be behind on? And…
