How my children motivate me to be a better man

Meet Oliver, current Cara participant and Patient Escort at Northwestern Medicine. In honor of Father’s Day, he shares how his five children motivated him to grow out of self-sabotaging cycles and turn his life around.

“I have six children. They’re young adults, all between the ages of 19-32. One of my children passed away when he was young, but I’m grateful for all of my kids that are still with me.

“Last year, I was stuck in a cycle of gambling and couldn’t hold onto my money. After a certain point, I knew that couldn’t continue. I wanted to be better for my children and be a father they could look up to. I wanted to steer them in the right direction but couldn’t do that without getting the help I needed first.

“Cara helped me focus on getting on the right track. The activities we did during the program also helped me reconnect with my youngest son. He had gone down the wrong path and had become more rebellious. Then, an altercation we had led to us not speaking for four years.

“Part of Cara’s programming is doing the Love Exercise, and I picked him to do it with. I held his face in my hands and told him I loved him. This exercise brought us together again, and we communicate and see each other much more now. I’m so grateful for that. The lessons I learned during my time at Cara completely altered my relationship with my children.

The lessons I learned during my time at Cara completely altered my relationship with my children.

“My children motivate me to be a better man and Cara gave me the support I needed to become that. The self-sabotaging behaviors I got into are all in the past now. My children can finally look up to me as they create their own careers. I know they’re all going to be extremely successful one day and make me proud. I hope I make them proud too.”

This Father’s Day, you can support fathers like Oliver looking to transform their lives giving a gift that helps transform a life.