Five parents graduated from a Rise writing group at Graham Windham on June 14, 2016, celebrating 16 weeks of hard work to complete stories for publication. Pictured from left are Melissa Landrau, Mariya Kolesnichenko, Nelson Lopez, Rise Director Nora McCarthy, Rebecca Cedeño and Monique Diaz. Participant D’Juan Collins also completed a story.

This is the second year that Graham has hosted a Rise writing workshop for parents as part of its Family Success Program. Parents in the group met weekly to learn personal essay writing skills, write reflective essays about their child welfare experiences, and share their stories with Graham staff at the graduation celebration.