Cheyene is a most beloved aunt to five young children born to her sister and sister’s husband; both sister and husband are addicted to heroin, and have been for 10 years. This is not a new place for Cheyene to visit. She was taken out of her home as a little girl; her parents were addicted to heroin, and her grandmother raised her. She lost her brother to an overdose. Cheyene was not going to let the cycle continue. Not on her watch.
While her sister was pregnant with her fifth child, she was homeless and injecting daily. Her four other children were taken into care; they are all under the age of 10. Remember, this is the only home they know. That it is chaotic, unclean and potentially dangerous is not in their vocabulary. It is simply the place that mommy and daddy live, and whether or not they’re available in the manner of most parents, with a hot dinner and hugs and homework help, well, that just isn’t their experience. The fact that mommy and daddy don’t make meals, don’t talk much, and when they do, they’re hard to understand- isn’t that the way home should be? To these children, this just was the way it was.
Until the police and their caseworker arrived and the children were pulled away from their sluggish parents. The authorities involved kept hoping that a healthier environment awaited this family. They intervened, and offered resources and support. And every time, heroin prevailed. These children lived in and out of motel rooms, some with running water, some without. Food was a rarity. Watching mommy and daddy do needles, that was commonplace.
Cheyene put all of her energies and focus on bringing these children into her home, where she knew they would be well loved and cared for. It took years for the adoptions to come through; years of gathering whatever resources she could obtain, months and months of parenting classes, as mandated through the courts. Cheyene currently has all five children in her custody and care.
Cheyene is a 22-year-old nursing student. She graduated this past spring from Wright State University. To know someone that young with a heart so pure, a drive so strong, a desire so deep to care for and love her new family, it leaves me speechless.
We initially heard from Cheyene two years ago early spring. She wrote FLOC and asked if it were at all possible to provide a grant a wish to two young boys, Eddie and Donovan, who had never had the experience of playing a sport- and they really wanted to play football. These are two of the five children she is hoping to give both home and heart. We shared this request with a very endearing family who wanted to help. They went out and purchased every athletic thing ever associated with football, and paid the entrance fee for an upcoming football camp offered in the area. This was presented at our next board meeting. There was not a dry eye in the room.
Cheyene is the embodiment of what a family strives to emulate. She is the pure love, stability and grace that these young children would never had known, but for her intervention. There has been much interest and support offered to this young family. This past year, they were fed and nurtured by an anonymous resource who bought the family a car, groceries for a year, and all the support they need on a month by month basis. It is stunning, the strength and generosity that is present in our world.
To know that there are super heroes out there like Cheyene opens your eyes as to how the world can make such sense, and how profoundly a super hero can impact a young life. Or two. Or five.