Lizbeth’s Story From ARMC First 5 Dental Program Lizbeth, a 5 year old little girl from the city of Highland, CA needed lots of dental treatment. She had what we call "gross decay," which means that she had many cavities in her little mouth which caused her pain and discomfort. This pain and discomfort did not allow her to eat well and her nutrition was in a decline. Lizbeth’s mother was very worried about her, so she took her to a large dental clinic in the area where she was turned away because her Medi-Cal eligibility had lapsed without her knowledge. The whole family depended on Medi-Cal for all health and dental treatment, without it they were not able to pay for essential health care. Lizbeth’s mother was very sad and frustrated because of her daughter’s condition and the family’s inability to pay. Fortunately for Lizbeth our program was able to assist her in her oral health needs. Her mother was given our number by a school program that Lizbeth participated in. She promptly called our program and we enrolled her and had an appointment for her that very same day. Our program is designed to help children 5 and under get the dental care they need at no cost to their family. Lizbeth was going to turn 6 years of age in a few weeks, so we were under a time constraint. The office where we had sent her was able to make arrangements to see her as soon as possible not only to meet the age requirement for our program, but also because of the terrible pain she was in. Lizbeth was able receive treatment right before her 6th birthday and now enjoys a beautiful pain-free smile! Our program, thanks to First 5 San Bernardino funding, was able to pay for the all of the dental treatment that Lizbeth needed, which totaled over $1,500.00 that Lizbeth’s mom did not have! The whole family was very grateful for our help, because without it, Lizbeth would still be in pain and her health would have declined even more. Lizbeth is only one of thousands of children that have received assistance through our program. We are very proud to know that today Lizbeth, along with other children, is smiling and able to enjoy her formative years. Mary’s Story from From Moses House Ministeries "Mary," shown here with her newborn daughter, is a great example of the courage of many single mothers who seek help from Moses House Minstries.. Her husband left her when she became pregnant after suffering a debilitating stroke. She and her two teen daughters and six-year-old son were on their own when a social worker from Loma Linda University Medical Center requested transportation from Moses House for Mary from her Victor Valley home to Loma Linda for prenatal care during her extremely high risk pregnancy.. Moses House staff transported Mary twice weekly, including during the big snow that closed the Cajon Pass in December. Mary was determined to give her baby the best start possible. Moses House made sure she got to the hospital in time to deliver a healthy, but premature, 4 lb. 15 oz. daughter on December 30. The next day, New Year’s Eve, the social worker who had arranged for Mary to enroll in Moses House left a voice mail message there, saying through tears that, had Mary not received the transportation that Moses House was able to provide through a prenatal investment from First 5 San Bernardino, Mary, and her beautiful baby, now seven pounds, would probably not have survived. Nolan’s Story from Needles Unified School District Nolan W. is a 3-year old who began the JumpStart Program in September 2008. His family recently relocated to Needles from Pennsylvania to take care of Nolan’s grandmother, who had been diagnosed with brain cancer. After meeting with Nolan’s mother, we found that the move was made in a two week span of time and extremely “frantic”. Nolan and his family arrived in time to see his grandmother through brain surgery and to start the healing process. Nolan’s mother was concerned with how Nolan was adjusting to the relocation and lack of children to play with, being new to the area. They attempted to enroll Nolan in Head Start but due to his age he was put on a waiting list and referred to JumpStart. Nolan was hesitant to start and after meeting with his mother and many discussions it was discovered that Nolan didn’t want to leave the home because “they might have to move again, real fast”. He was frightened of being left behind. After reassuring Nolan, over and over, that this would never happen, he began to relax. Nolan now walks in with confidence and is a great class participant. Sadly, Nolan’s grandmother passed away in November, only a few months after their move. Nolan’s mother has stated that JumpStart is "a happy place to be while we are still grieving at home."