Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 8476 GoodLifeFamilyMag.com MARCH | APRIL 2017 Focus on the Sunshine to Overcome the Clouds by Lisa A. Beach “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it,” said French playwright Molière. If this is true, then the kids in the Dallas-based Rainbow Days program are headed for a wildly successful future. Why? Because many of these at-risk kids have faced more strife in their childhoods than most people see in a lifetime. Take Karaan, for example. A teen in the program for six years, he’s watched his mother struggle with alcohol and drug addiction, which led to cycles of joblessness, poverty, and homelessness for the family. But despite this unpredictable, harsh life, Karaan still hopes to be a veterinarian because he loves animals. “The most important lesson I learned from Rainbow Days is not to give up on my hopes and dreams,” explains Karaan. “Just because you don’t have the resources that other people have doesn’t mean you can’t strive to reach your dreams.” Founded in 1982 by Cathey Brown, M.Ed., the non-profit Rainbow Days helps kids dealing with adversity build coping skills and resilience to create positive futures. Adversity can take many forms, including abuse, homelessness, poverty, family violence, addiction, divorce, and parental incarceration. Brown knows first-hand about overcoming adversity. She grew up with an alcoholic dad. Later, she became an addict herself after taking doctor-prescribed valium to ease severe postpartum depression following her daughter’s birth. After conducting research, talking to others, and going to counseling, Brown realized that addiction is really a family disease. Although there were plenty of resources to help the addict, few existed to support the addict’s children. Brown launched Rainbow Days to fill the void. Her daughter, who was seven at the time, was in that first group of kids to receive support. At the core of Rainbow Days lies its award- winning Curriculum-Based Support Group-- -a multi-cultural, evidence-based, preventive program designed for at-risk boys and girls (ages 4-17) facing increased risk for future behavioral and health problems. Its program provides essential life skills to teach kids and teens how to cope with difficult family situations, resist negative peer pressure, respect others, set and achieve goals, make healthy choices, and refuse alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. RainbowDayspartnerswithschools,homeless shelters,andcommunityorganizationstodeliver its program at no cost. “We go to where the kids are. We don’t wait around for them to come to us,” says Brown, the non-profit’s CEO. goodDEEDS RAINBOW DAYS HELPS AT-RISK KIDS COPE WITH ADVERSITY “Each meeting starts with‘sunshine and cloud’— a time for kids to share both happy things and difficult things that happened that week,”says Rainbow Days CEO Cathey Brown. “This gives us a chance to find out what’s going on in their lives and gives them a chance to share.” Cathey Brown with children at a recent Back-to-School event