Hancock County Youth Court celebrates Reunification Month
The Hancock County Youth Court spent the evening celebrating its families that have been successful in being reunited as a part of National Reunification Month.
June of every year is a month dedicated to recognizing the parents that had their children taken away for abuse or neglect and worked with MDCPS and CASA and were successful in reunifying with their children.
Two former Hancock County Youth Court clients stepped up to the podium and shared about their journey back to sobriety and their families.
For mother of three Heather LaFrance, the moment she was reunited with her kids was one of many emotions. “So many times, I got frustrated to get to that point. Then once it was there in my face, it was like everything just went out of my head and I was like what do I do now? I was so scared, excited, nervous. Words can’t describe the feeling of oh here’s your kids back.”
Hancock County Youth Court Parent Attorney Lanie Roussel said, “You see people at their lowest of their lows, but through the process through the hard work, the obstacles, the struggle, the amount of time it sometimes takes, that reunification, that means everything. That means everything and if we can change just one life, one family’s life, something was right– something was done right.”
Hancock County is starting a federally funded family treatment court that will help connect families with current youth court clients through its peer support groups.
