One Can Help

Foster children, At-risk youth, Struggling Families. Now.

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Moving the Ball Forward, One Child at a Time

Thank You Painting

Thank you for helping us say ‘Yes’.
Yes to after-school activities.
Yes to camps.
Yes to school supplies.

Yes to underserved kids from struggling families who wish they had the same types of opportunities that their better-off peers have to develop skills and feel good about themselves.

A DCF social worker recently requested funds so a young teen could play football. He wrote: “His single mother has cancer which keeps her from being able to work and she can’t pay for many of her son’s basic needs. It would be awful if he couldn’t participate, since it is so good for him to have this positive outlet.”

Of course we said ‘Yes’.
The teen was so thankful that he made this card.

Together, we really are making a difference. Thank you!

A Safe Place to Go After School

school busThe school bus lets you off in the projects. No one is home in your tiny, dark apartment, and you have nothing to do. As usual.

A recipe for success? Hardly.

One Can Help makes it possible for our neediest “in risk” kids to join after-school activities.

We recently helped two boys join an after-school program so their mother could learn skills to find employment. Their social worker later remarked: “The boys now complete their homework and have made positive connections with staff and peers.”

Help us assist needy children and families trying to improve their lives and make positive changes. Please donate now.

One Can Help is a Massachusetts non-profit serving Middlesex County that helps the neediest court-involved children and families stay safe and have greater opportunities for success. 

Photo Credit: Phil Roeder

Growing Up Without a Family

teen boyWho pays for a new mattress and the special cleaning of your clothes when you discover that everything is infested with bed bugs?

Who pays for a mini fridge for your room so you can keep your food safe from the roommates who are stealing it, which really matters when you only have $25 a week available for your food allowance?

There are foster kids who grow up without having any family at all. After they turn 18, many of them are on their own. Some of the more fortunate continue to get some DCF assistance for cheap rent and a little food. But this support is extremely limited and does not stretch to cover clothing, a phone, a T pass, a computer or unforeseen emergencies.

Young adults like these, who have no caring adults in their lives to help them when they face setbacks, are at tremendous risk for others to abuse them, as well as to engage in other self-harming behaviors or even suicide.

One Can Help stands behind these kids to provide for them when no other assistance is available anywhere else.

Help us assist needy teens and young adults who are trying to improve their lives and make positive changes. Please donate now.

One Can Help is a Massachusetts non-profit serving Middlesex County that helps the neediest court-involved children and families stay safe and have greater opportunities for success. 

Photo Credit: theyedropper

Beds of Their Own

child in bed

I just wanted to say thank you . . . I am so happy One Can Help paid for the beds we needed because I couldn’t. It was a long year without my boys but I have worked hard to become a better mother, and I also found an apartment without mold. My boys are still in foster care, but DCF has said they could start sleeping over once I have mattresses and beds. This help is greatly appreciated by not only myself but also both of my boys, who are so excited to be finally coming home.

Many Thanks,
D

Working as court-appointed attorneys and social workers, we see many families in court. People can be there for many reasons, but some of the parents are there because they have substance abuse issues which have impacted their ability to be good parents.

Sometimes we work with people who love their kids but just can’t get past their own problems to make necessary changes. It’s very sad when that happens. But when we work with a parent who really is doing everything possible to change and to be a better parent by becoming clean, by actively participating in mental heath and parenting counseling, by moving into a healthier and safer apartment, and by really making every effort to put her life back together, we want to help.

This is a thank you from a parent we helped. This mother is very proud of the changes she has made, and she is grateful for the support she got from the the court, DCF and her clinicians.

DCF was ready to have her kids start the process of returning home to her from foster care. But they were waiting until mom could buy them beds, which she was unable to afford.

So we bought them.

Please help us assist needy children and families trying to improve their lives and make positive changes.

Who pays for this? We do. You can help: Please donate now.

One Can Help is a Massachusetts non-profit serving Middlesex County that helps the neediest court-involved children and families stay safe and have greater opportunities for success. 

Photo Credit: viviandnguyen

Best Friends Come in All Sizes

goldenA social worker recently wrote us to ask for help.

“I had a home visit with a family today. When I walked into the house, everyone was crying. Their dog, Alice, lay on the couch whimpering, unable to walk or even move two of her legs. The family thought she was dying.”

She further explained that the children live with their grandmother who has very little money but who took them in after their father physically, emotionally and sexually abused them. The family could not afford to pay for the dog and the social worker worried that the children would suffer if the dog had to be put down.

“Alice is a member of their family. She helps them feel safe and is therapeutic.”

Who pays for this? We do.

Alice is now being treated by the vet and is expected to recover.

How you can help: Please donate now.

One Can Help is a Massachusetts non-profit serving Middlesex County that helps the neediest court-involved children and families stay safe and have greater opportunities for success. 

Photo Credit: Luke Ma