Kelly Glover and Family

Kelly, her 6 year old twins, Rebecca and Jason, and her 12 year old daughter Heavenleigh were one of the first families to secure a unit at BOSS’s Sankofa Transitional House located at Ursula Sherman Village. Loosely, the name Sankofa means "To reclaim our past so we can move forward into tomorrow with wisdom." Kelly is a bittersweet example of “Sankofa”. After a long battle with addiction, the loss of her children to CPS, and the difficult decision to give a child up for adoption, she has moved forward into a bright future.

Kelly is in the Linkages program which has helped her find work and is subsidizing her apartment situated on the Berkeley/Oakland border. Kelly is also working for RMD Services - Second Chance Housing. "I want to help people like people have helped me," Kelly said. “Life is still hard, dealing with life on life's terms but I have never been happier.”

At Sankofa, twelve year old Heavenleigh regularly attended and excelled in the on-site Children's Learning Center. Her artwork hangs proudly in their new apartment. "Heavenleigh connected with the CLC teachers and did really well in art," Kelly said. Academically, Healvenleigh is much more confident in math and English after the one-on-one tutoring she received. Rebecca and Jason also flourished under the care they received in the CLC. For a long time, the children knew Sankofa as home. "The transition was hard for Jason," Kelly said. "Sometimes he tells me he wants to go home – and to him, home is Sankofa."

"I was out there a long time and have been through so much. People tried to do put doors up to stop me but I kept knocking them down, so to other families struggling, I say - never give up, be open, be willing to change, work hard, stay positive - life does get better," Kelly said.

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