Story Submitted By: Mariia, Head Start Parent

I am writing to express my deepest gratitude to the SETA Head Start program and to share how profoundly it has changed my life, my family, and the future of my children. My story is one of transformation – from despair and conflict to hope, stability, and growth —and it would not have been possible without this program.

Before joining Head Start, our life was filled with difficulties. My husband and I often communicated through yelling, blaming, and even using harmful patterns of discipline that I had inherited from my own upbringing. We thought children needed to be forced to behave and forced to eat healthy food. I had no understanding of positive discipline, healthy relationships, or balanced nutrition. My children constantly fought with each other, tried to hurt one another on purpose, and told me they wanted to leave our home. My older daughter experienced depression after her first preschool experience, and my younger son, who entered the program at about one and a half years old, had a serious speech delay that even our doctors had overlooked. At the same time, I myself was living with depression without even realizing it, and our family was on the brink of falling apart.

The Head Start program changed all of this. The staff recognized my struggles, guided me to specialists, and patiently showed me how to build healthier relationships with my children. They taught me that physical and psychological punishment is harmful, and they gave me tools to replace punishment with guiding consequences. Because of this, my relationship with my daughter reached a new level of trust and love. The program also helped me prepare my younger son for preschool and kindergarten. Thanks to their support, he entered school with joy and confidence, instead of fear and resistance. Today, both of my children are thriving in school academically and socially, with no issues in behavior or learning.

The program also helped us with nutrition. I learned that giving my son unlimited cow’s milk was one of the causes of his iron-deficiency anemia. With the program’s guidance, I completely changed the way I feed my family. I began to create balanced meals with proteins, vegetables, and whole foods. Most importantly, I learned that children do not need to be forced to eat healthy food—with the right approach from parents, they choose it themselves. Today, my children enjoy healthy snacks, and my daughter proudly takes sliced tomatoes only to school for her snack. Their health has improved, and they now avoid sweets in large amounts on their own. I was shocked by this.

The changes reached every part of our family life. With the support of Head Start, I began to shift the family roles and responsibilities at home. Before, all of the household work and childcare were on me, and my husband did not participate in daily routines or spend time with the children. Over the years, using the strategies I learned from Head Start staff, I slowly changed my own behavior—and as a result, my husband’s behavior also transformed. Today he spends meaningful time with our children, helps them with hygiene and learning, and enjoys his role as a father. He himself is surprised at how much closer he feels to the family, and this positive change has strengthened our marriage.

Instead of blaming each other, we now support one another and ask, “How can I help you?”. This positive example reflects on our children, who now treat each other and others in society with kindness and respect.

Head Start also gave me the strength to grow as an individual. At the time I entered the program, I had no American education and no confidence in myself. I couldn’t even understand the Home Visitor who came to my house because of my low level of English. But she never gave up—she explained slowly, showed things with gestures, and waited patiently while I used a translator. In that safe environment, I learned step by step. This gave me the courage to continue my education: I attended adult school, had my foreign diploma in Project Management evaluated, and then entered college.

Today, I am preparing to take my state exam to become a licensed real estate agent this October. Head Start gave me the foundation to believe in myself, to find a career where I can contribute to society, and to become independent both emotionally and professionally.

Head Start also connected us to the community in ways that we could not access on our own. When we first arrived in the United States, we had very little money and could not afford to take our children to places like the zoo or other activities their friends talked about. The free monthly gatherings and activities that Head Start organized gave my children opportunities to feel included and not isolated. This support was priceless during those early years.

Another important impact was on my personal development and opportunities. With the stability that Head Start brought into my family life, I was able to focus on new goals. My blog reached an audience of more than 200,000 people on one platform and 60,000 on another, allowing me to help others and contribute to my community. I was even able to proudly pay my first American taxes from the income I earned. This would have been impossible without the foundation and stability I gained from this program.

Finally, the program directly shaped the future of my children. Thanks to the structure, routines, and learning strategies I gained from Head Start, my children are thriving academically and socially, and their language development has exceeded anything I could have imagined. My daughter (8) fluently speaks, reads, and writes in both English and Russian, and she also speaks and reads in Spanish at a high level. My son (5) is already fluent in English and Russian for his age and has begun learning Spanish. Our long-term goal is for both of them to earn the California State Seal of Biliteracy in high school—not only in English, but also in Russian and Spanish. Achievements like these would not have been possible without the structure, encouragement, and resources that Head Start brought into our family.

This program is not just support—it is prevention, education, and empowerment. For families like mine, it means the difference between despair and hope, between brokenness and success. For all of these reasons, I strongly urge you to continue funding and expanding SETA Head Start. Programs like this change lives, and my family is living proof.