MEET: The Davis Family

Teandra, Marlon, and Travis | Erin’s House Family and Identity Program Participants

On Memorial Day in 2019, we lost Tony, who was my boys’ uncle and a father figure to Marlon. After his death, I started to notice a change in Marlon. He didn’t want to roller skate anymore, something they used to love doing together. Every time we tried to go back to the same rink, he would cry and wouldn’t stop until we left. His grief showed me just how deep the loss ran for all of us.

Then, in 2020, we lost my mom, and it broke us all over again. She was my everything, my best friend, and the glue that held our family together. We were always with her, and when she passed, everything fell apart. The whole family dynamic shifted and we didn’t know how to be without her. That’s when I knew I needed to find help, not just for me, but for my boys too.

We first got connected with Erin’s House through the Identity Outreach program at our church. We’d known Erick, the Director of Community Outreach, from there and when I found out he also worked with Erin's House kids who were grieving, it felt like a sign. At first, Marlon didn’t want to go. He thought it was going to be boring, but once he got there and saw Erick, everything changed. He told me, “Erick’s confident, he’s fun, and he gets us.” That connection made all the difference.

Once Marlon opened up in the Identity program, it became easier for him to talk to me too. He learned tools to manage his grief and his anger instead of letting it control him. One of Marlon’s favorite memories from the program is a canvas activity where they wrote and drew pictures about the people they loved and lost. He made his about my mom and when I saw it my heart just swelled. It felt like healing for both of us.

After three years on and off in the Identity program, I see the impact and how far my boys have come. I see it in the way Marlon talks about his memories, in the way he’s learned to feel his grief instead of pushing it away. I see it in Travis’s smile when he talks about Identity. We’re still healing, but we’re not alone in it.

The biggest blessing of all is that each program and meal we receive is all for free. If we had to pay, I honestly don’t know how we would’ve managed. We are truly thankful beyond words for this incredible support.

Tony was a proud Ivy Tech Fort Wayne graduate. After his death, the campus renamed their mascot “Tony the Titan” in his honor celebrating his big heart, campus involvement, and lasting impact.