A Complicated Life: Unresolved issues

Davis believes the issues Yolanda had with her late mother are still not resolved.

“The death of her mother plays a big part in [Yolanda’s] life … as far as how she [acts] towards the kids because she does not want to treat [them] they way she was treated,” he said.

Davis confirmed that Yolanda has limited contact with her siblings who live in Chicago.

“It’s like they’d be OK for a minute and then [would] go three or four years without speaking to each other. It was the same pattern with her mom.”

Yolanda does speak with her father, who lives in Chicago, when he calls – usually from another family member’s house.

“[Yolanda’s] dad was never really in her life as far as I know,” Davis said.

Woodard also sees the challenges faced by Yolanda because of her lack of familial support.

“I think that is a huge part of her story that she doesn’t really have any family and I think that’s why she feels so connected with me. It’s almost like [the No Limits] program has taken the role of her parent. I think that’s what we do with a lot of clients – it’s not really intentionally and we definitely have to have our boundaries … I almost do the same things with my clients as I do with my daughter when I’m trying to get her to do her homework … It’s like I’m almost trying to help them plan out their lives because that was what was lacking,” Woodard said.

ByWill Atwater/For CU-Citizen Access