Braid Mission

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Meet Alice and Jack

As a grandmother, Alice* felt helpless. 

She couldn’t fix the challenges in her daughter’s life or save her from the consequences of hard choices. And now Alice had to watch her teenage grandson, Jack*, struggle without a stable home life. He was regularly getting in trouble, facing bullies at school, and considering running away from home. 

“I had no one to talk to during the time the two people I loved most were deteriorating,” Alice says. When she heard about Braid Mission, it felt like the lifeline she desperately needed. 

After getting matched with a Braid group, life started to change for Jack and Alice. 

Jack’s mentors had also experienced difficulties in their childhoods. But now their lives were completely transformed. They were proof that adults could overcome incredible challenges to lead successful, meaningful lives. 

“I see how they are now, how they attack every opportunity with ambition and succeed,” Jack says. “[They’re] a role model for how I see my own life playing out.” 

Thanks to the influence of his Braid team, Jack started volunteering, eating healthier foods, developing hobbies, and setting goals. He says his new habits were a “boost to my whole life” and gave him hope for a different future. 

For Alice, having access to a Braid team meant she finally wasn’t alone. In the team facilitator, she found a partner in navigating guardianship and someone who always took her calls. She and Jack also found the community they often missed. “We don’t have a family environment where everybody sits at the dinner table to eat,” Alice said. Having a Braid team, she says, “is like having family, having a bunch of people.”

Today, Alice and Jack are still regularly in touch with their Braid team and Jack is pursuing a biochemistry degree. Thanks to another member of the Braid community, he has been interning with the neurology department at UCSF for the last year. He says his time with Braid helped set a healthy foundation for the rest of his life. 

Studies show that the best way to heal relational trauma is through healthy consistent relationships. That’s why the Braid model takes a team-oriented approach to mentoring. As a member of a Braid team, you’re directly transforming the lives of people like Alice and Jack! 

Learn how you can join a Braid team today and help make space for healing to take place ➡️ https://braidmission.org/mentoring/