Client Stories

Tyanna: Finding Purpose

Tyanna's youngest, Deshawn, celebrates his 2nd birthday with brother, Tyjhir, and Beth Shalom neighbor, Shamya

  • Tyanna is thankful to be reunited with her 2 younger boys, Tyjhir (3) and Deshawn (2), and working to become independent and back on track. Originally charged with "theft by deception" - passing bad checks – and released from Lancaster Prison last November after serving 40 days for a probation violation, she is now learning to stay on top of her bills and being honest about her debts and paying bills and managing her money.

    Tyanna has four children, all boys. Her older boys, 13 and 14 are with their father. She liked that the Beth Shalom program was Christian and that she would be working to be reunited with her children. Her goal is "to get all my children back. God tells me to just be patient and it will come when it is time for it to come."

  • [image]

    She attends Beth Shalom's spiritual meeting every other Monday and Ray's Temple on Sundays. "Worship Him everyday with everything that we do," is what Christianity means to Tyanna. She is impressed with Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life that the women have been studying, from which she learned about "staying positive and worshiping God...we are not here by chance – we're here because He wants us to be here. Everyone has their own purpose in life."

    She currently attends Career Link classes Monday through Friday to obtain her Ready to Work Certificate and is planning to seek an on-the-job training position with a local factory.

  • [image]

    Like most parents, Tyanna wants her children to have a good education, finish school, go to college, be happy and successful and not make the same mistakes she and their father made. She sees her older boys every couple of months and talks to them frequently. She explains that her 3-year-old son, Tyjhir, is challenging, but he loves Michelle, Beth Shalom’s Volunteer Coordinator, and enjoys visiting Michelle in her office.

    Michelle reports, "When Tyanna came to Beth Shalom last November she was not sure how much to trust us. We have been through a lot of ups and downs since then and I have seen the Lord work in her life. Tyanna has overcome so many obstacles and I am very proud of her."

    For now, Tyanna says, "My purpose is to be a dedicated Mom to my kids, making sure they get their early education, making sure my 3-year-old gets the extra help he needs to be a good person...to succeed

    "As long as I don't go down the negative path that I was on a few years ago, everything will be alright. [I'm learning] not to worry about things that are out of my control."

Past Client Stories