TW: Mentions of death and suicide  Ever since I was little, my mom has been my best friend. She had this spectacular way of walking the line between being parent and friend. She was so humble, so smart, so kind. My mom is the one who taught me to love music and the arts. She […]

The “college care package Moms group” was inspired by an article I read from Grown & Flown. We all have college freshman away from home for the first time, living in the dorms. I wanted to connect other local moms who are in the same phase and together, support our “babies”.

The other day I was having a conversation with a friend and we were talking about life’s trials and the struggles we were facing at the time, and she said something that took me back a bit.

As the youngest of seven, Mario Gonzales was 11 years old when his parents left he and his siblings and went to California for work. Mario recalls that that season was filled with new experiences–both good and bad. He began experimenting with drugs and alcohol yet tried to form relationships and find community with peers at the local teen center. “I would do whatever it took to get to Chelan and go to the teen center. I’d sleep at Don Morse Park to be somewhere else or be with friends. But no one knew I was sleeping at parks alone.”