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like it helps so many kids. Even though I don\u2019t deal with families all the time, I help the volunteers provide resources for them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Karen attends court in Marshall and Lincoln Counties to offer an immediate connection to Junior\u2019s House for abuse and neglect cases. She coordinates new cases, assists and coordinates the volunteers, and manages the Junior\u2019s House volunteer program in these counties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Working with abused children can be emotionally challenging, but helping them and their families is her priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to hear that a kid is going through something, so I separate my emotions because I know that my emotions aren\u2019t the most important thing,\u201d Karen said. \u201cThey\u2019re trying to figure out what their emotions are. I have to think clearly to help that family get through what they\u2019re about to go through. We just want to know their thoughts, so we have to push our emotions back and be there for the family first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Helping is what Karen loves to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I got my first job at the health department, I realized this is what I was meant to do,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause\u00a0I\u2019m bilingual, I felt I had to help someone who\u2019s not understanding, even in the grocery store. I\u2019ve always known I\u2019d be someone who helps. I grew up knowing I wanted to be someone they knew would have information to help them through a tough time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her ultimate goal was to become a helper to her community in Lincoln County. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve always loved helping families and children. I love being around children. That\u2019s what I always wanted to do, and I wanted to be able to give back to my community,\u201d Karen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a family circle made up of community and birth families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She said, \u201cI wanted to be closer to my son when I\u2019m working; I don\u2019t want to be so far away from him. My family is important to me, and working at Junior\u2019s House is important; you\u2019re helping a family go through tough times. I wanted to put all that I\u2019ve learned back into the community that I grew up in and be a role model to my son.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Karen is a connector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m building bridges in the community I live in with the volunteers and the people they serve. I\u2019m helping our volunteers build that family back up and giving them everything they need to be a good family and help them raise their children correctly, and I love that,\u201d Karen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She knows that family at its best means being there for each other, a safe place to share things. Every family is different and far from perfect, but we all need to feel we have a place to belong. Karen wants to support and build up those places in the lives of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Family is where we leave and go back to, and Karen has done both. At Junior\u2019s House or in the grocery store, this helper is indeed at home. GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" FAMILY IS full of ups and downs, but it\u2019s also where we leave from and go back to. At its best, it\u2019s where we belong. At its worst, it\u2019s where we wish to go or return to \u2014 that place of belonging.\u00a0 Karen McCulloch has a heart for family. But when she and her husband, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":17701,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/3-8-1024x683.png\")
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