Head Start Heals: Recovering Confidence
Cami Miller: I live in eastern Oregon in a town called La Grande. It's in a valley, and there's lots of mint fields and wheat fields and cows, and – [Laughs] ... It's a very beautiful place to live, but it doesn't always have the resources people need, you know, to get back on their feet or overcome.
I'm an addict. When I had my son, he came into this world, and I just was not really ready to be a mom yet. Just trying to figure out how to get clean, and I got sent to prison. And so, he lived with his grandparents pretty much until I got out of prison. I never paid bills before, really. I'd never – I'd worked, but not anywhere for a long period of time, and I'd definitely never been a parent. My boyfriend at the time, he had a daughter who was 4 years old, and she was going to Head Start. And it was her special day, and they asked me to go, and, you know – and I was, like, “Well, sure, I guess.” I remember being pretty anxious about the whole ordeal because it's a small town. I just figured everyone would know me and know my history. And, you know, I was just met with kindness and love and, like, no judgment.
And so, my son Tyler, when he was 3, I was like, “He's gotta go here. Like, there's no other option. We need this.” They did home visits, and we played games, and I learned how to get a kid to brush their teeth, how to get a kid to try new food – those fundamental parenting skills.
It's hard to put into words, like, all the little things that have impacted my recovery. But the connections I made with teachers and staff – it helped my confidence as a parent, and it gave me skills that I just don't think I would have gotten anywhere else.
[Music]
Cami struggled with substance use and was sentenced to prison shortly after her son was born. After her release, she found community and support in Head Start, which gave her the skills she needed to be a first-time parent.
