Her mother had disappeared after her birth and Tabitha had been living with her father since that time. Her father began using drugs and she was removed from his home due to neglect. She was dressed inappropriately for the weather. She had on faded black leggings that were full of holes and a filthy white T- shirt. She appeared to have not had a bath in over a week and her hair had not been combed in at least that much time. Most concerning was her shy and introverted demeanor. She was not interested in anything to eat and she declined offers of a stuffed animal or toy. It was not clear if she was even verbal.

About forty-five minutes later an adorable little girl was running up and down the hall laughing, giggling and saying hello to everyone who walked by. She had on a Winnie the Pooh denim jumper, frilly socks and pink tennis shoes and her hair was combed neatly with matching hair bows. She walked into the BEAR room and boldly pointed to the snacks she wanted and the stuffed teddy bear that was her favorite. None of us could believe this was the same child we had seen less than an hour ago. The physical transformation was a team effort. The volunteers in the BEAR room made sure that she had all the emergency items that she needed, the caseworker cleaned her and changed her into her new clothes in the ladies room at the CPS office and Michelle Searles spent about twenty minutes combing and fixing her hair. There was no doubt that the few items Tabatha was given and the time spent with her restored her confidence and gave her dignity.

The mission of BEAR is to provide hope and help to CPS kids and the caseworkers who protect them. Tabatha was given hope and help. Her caseworker, who had been with the agency only a few months, expressed to us how much BEAR helped her too.