A Little Help at the Right Time: Darlene Everett’s Journey

When 62-year-old Darlene Everett opens the refrigerator in her kitchen, she still smiles. “The refrigerator is holding up,” she said with a laugh. It’s more than an appliance. For Darlene, it represents the moment she realized she didn’t have to face everything alone.

Darlene was born and raised in Cleveland, grew up in the Hough and Miles neighborhoods, became a teenage mother, earned her GED and eventually became a teacher for Cleveland Metropolitan Schools. Life took a turn. She was laid off from teaching and transitioned into taxi driving, which she loved for its independence and steady income. But nothing prepared her for what came next: gaining custody of three young grandchildren, all seven and under, after a family crisis. “It was traumatic and quick, not what I thought it would be,” she recalled.

With three children suddenly depending on her, Darlene did what she always does – she stepped up. “Somebody had to,” she said. “Those are my sister’s grandchildren. I didn’t want them going into the system.”

But stepping up didn’t erase the pressure. Overnight, she became the anchor in a storm of childcare needs, trauma, financial strain, medical appointments, special‑education evaluations and the daily work of helping frightened children feel safe again.

“It was challenging, and it’s still challenging,” she said.

A Door Opens: “I Didn’t Know It Was There”

Darlene learned about MetroHealth’s Buckeye Opportunity Center from a woman in a job‑readiness class. That introduction led her to Renee Harris, Financial Coach with the Institute for H.O.P.E.™ - and everything began to shift.

“It’s a resource facility,” Darlene said. “Through Ms. Harris, it helped me reestablish myself in this journey called life. I had challenges with work, being a teenage mom, coming into employment later, poverty – trying to maneuver all of that. The Opportunity Center is helping me figure it out. It’s a little late, but it’s working. And it’s never too late.”

The help started small: a refrigerator through a referral to East End Neighborhood House. Then help with clothing for the kids. Then support for utilities. Then, guidance on accessing public benefits she never expected to need again. “Sometimes it’s not that the resources aren’t there. You just need a hand or a reminder that they are available,” she said.

“Homework,” Lists and Starting Over

Working with Renee, Darlene found something she hadn’t felt in a long time: structure.

“Ms. Harris makes you responsible,” she said. “She gives you homework: a to-do list. That helped me focus and it reminded me to make my own lists again.” She now keeps lists on her phone, on paper and in her head. “Writing it down helps organize your thoughts,” she said. “Being organized helps me raise the kids.”

Organization became the thread pulling her forward from managing homework with a child who may have ADHD or autism to planning daycare drop-offs and mapping out how she’ll return to work, likely driving again for Lyft or Uber. “I have to make a plan so I can be financially stable again,” she said.

The Weight and the Gift of Caregiving

“The children were discouraged,” she said. “Especially the oldest. He just wanted his mother.” Now that Darlene has legal custody, she uses it to create healing: mom can stay overnight on weekends; dad and extended family can take part again. “I want them reunited with their mother,” she said. “That’s my hope.”

Meanwhile, she’s juggling the day-to-day of their needs. She tells stories with humor and honesty, coming home to yarn webs stretched across chairs (“Mom calls it creativity; I call it chaos”), coaching the kids through routines, and the enormous effort it takes to keep everyone fed, clothed, learning and emotionally steady. “If I’m not engaged, everything could fall down,” she said. “I prefer being engaged, motivated and getting things done.”

What the Opportunity Center Means to Her

Darlene lists the services like someone who has walked every hallway:

• help building a resume
• job search support
• Job & Family Services on site
• medical appointments and pharmacy
• WIC
• programs like Food as Medicine
• utility‑assistance referrals
  
  

…and, of course, Ms. Harris.

“Everything is right there,” she said. “It saves so much time.”

It also restores something deeper: dignity. “Nobody wants to be in that situation. But needing help isn’t a bad thing. You take the help and move on. Those obstacles are stepping stones. Step on them – even if they make a hill. They’re getting you to the top.”

A Message to the Team

At the end of her interview, Darlene sits quietly for a moment. Then she said:

“Just – thank you. For all your help, support and direction. ‘Thank you’ seems like a small word, but that’s what I have right now. I don’t have money to give, but thank you. It’s appreciated.”

The refrigerator is holding up. So is she. And with the Buckeye Opportunity Center by her side, she’s climbing that hill – one list, one step, one act of love at a time.

For more information, please contact Greg Sanders, Vice President of Philanthropy, at 440‑592‑1319 or gsanders@metrohealth.org.