With help from The LJD Jewish Family & Community Services (JFCS), a mother named Keyanna not only rose above addiction, but found her way back to her children.
Earlier this year, eight months pregnant and determined to turn her life around, Keyanna entered treatment at Gateway, a local rehab facility in Duval County. Her two young sons, ages 3 and 8, had been placed with their aunt, and her future felt uncertain. But just weeks later, everything began to change. Within days of meeting her case manager, Monica Schwartz from JFCS, Keyanna gave birth to a healthy baby girl.
Monica has seen many families struggle to reunite. What set this case apart was the urgency with which Keyanna took action and her significant level of commitment to her treatment plan.
“I’ve learned to trust my gut,” Monica says. “This mom was acknowledging her challenges, showing real insight, attending classes, and doing the work every single day. She was ready to be the parent her children needed.”
According to policy, Keyanna’s newborn was to be placed in foster care, as her sons already had been. But Monica’s instincts told her that further separation would only slow the family’s healing. She fought to keep Keyanna and her baby together under Gateway’s supervision — and won.
By August, after completing residential treatment, Keyanna was reunited with her sons just in time for the new school year.
Keyanna remains sober, and she and her children are thriving. For Monica and her team, family reunification is more than a milestone — it’s the heart of what they do.