Jennifer’s life has been filled with hardship.
After a challenging childhood, she became pregnant at 22 and gave birth to a beautiful daughter, Shyanne. However, there was a complication: Shyanne was born with multiple disabilities—and things took a turn for the worse when the father abandoned them.
Now on her own, Jennifer traveled a lonely road of single motherhood, facing a constant stream of doctor’s visits for Shyanne’s medical issues, including juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. As Shyanne grew older, she struggled to connect with peers, leading to another diagnosis – developmental delay. Now 22, Shyanne’s cognitive abilities remain similar to those of a six-year-old.
Two years ago, after years of financial hardship, Jennifer reached her lowest point.
Desperate and without options, she called David Yates, whom she’d known from his time at Clearwater Marine Aquarium, where her daughter Shyanne had developed a bond with Winter the Dolphin through the Dolphin Tale movies. The bills had piled up unbearably; Jennifer was facing a lawsuit from a credit card company, and Shyanne’s monthly Social Security payment had been cut back.
Yates and Crisis Connect intervened, got the lawsuit dismissed, engaged a pro bono law firm to finalize legal guardianship and provided financial assistance over a two-year period to help stabilize her. Crisis Connect has made a lifetime commitment to Jennifer and Shyanne as they continue their path to lifetime stability. “I really don’t know what I would have done without Crisis Connect,” Jennifer said through tears as Shyanne nodded
