building confidence— The Vancils' story
Perhaps the most common desire of parents served by Healthy Families Douglas County is to gain confidence and to succeed as parents.
  Sara and BrianVancil sought the help of the home visitation program when their daughter, Tessa, was 3 months old. At the time, severe postpartum depression had hospitalized Sara and the family was struggling.
   “Through the course of my treatment, a social worker suggested that we look into Healthy Families as a way to build our confidence,” Sara said.
  “We were trying to figure out how to make everything work,” Brian said. “It was difficult. I think what Jenni did when she came to our house as a visitor for Healthy Families was to give Sara confidence in her skills as a parent.”
  Jenni would stop by the Vancils home each week with information on parenting, health and safety, infant care, community resources, tips on Tessa’s development and assistance with goal setting. With each week, her confidence grew, Sara said.
  “If we hadn’t had that support, it would have been a long recovery process for
Sara,” Brian said.
   The Vancils have since transitioned out of Healthy Families and are continuing to expand their parenting knowledge in another program that helps new families, Parents as Teachers.