According to his mother Kayla, 20-year-old Brennan Hurst has spent most of his life falling through the cracks. When their family was awarded a “Supporting Success” scholarship from Mainstay, Brennan was able to remain a resident in one of our supportive homes – meaning his housing needs were secure. Kayla was a featured speaker at Mainstay’s 5th Annual “You Make a Difference” fundraiser and talked about the extraordinary way this changed their lives. The following is excerpted from her speech:
I’m honored to share a glimpse of what Mainstay has meant to my family and especially my son. Brennan lives with developmental disabilities that make life really challenging and complicated, especially when it comes to task management, relationships and all those important things that young adults need.
From the time he was little, Brennan was one of those kids who was always in danger of falling through the cracks. He fell through the cracks at school. Teachers never knew what to do with him. He would test above grade level in one area and then be unable to complete a simple classroom task in another. He wasn’t failing, but he wasn’t thriving either. He was just falling through the cracks.
We fell through the cracks financially, too. We’re not on public assistance but we don’t have the means to pay privately for the level of support that Brennan needs. We spent years filling out forms. Those same forms…asking the same questions.
We have appealed decisions over and over. Like so many families that Mainstay serves, we know the exhausting reality of doing everything right but still not quite qualifying for support.
And then there’s the age gap. Brennan is 20. Too old for most youth programs and too young for many adult ones. He’s finished with school. He aced the GED and yet he doesn’t fit neatly anywhere. For most of his life, Brennan has been slipping through the cracks. And when a person falls through the cracks, so does a family.
Our home was full of love, but it was also full of tension. A constant frustration on all sides, the financial and emotional strain – it took a toll on everyone. His siblings were growing up in a home that calm was hard to come by. And we were doing everything we could, but it wasn’t quite enough. And then? When we were about to fall through the cracks again, we found Mainstay.
From the very first conversation we knew something was different. They saw Brennan’s challenges, yes. But they saw potential. They didn’t lead with paperwork, they led with compassion. Now Brennan lives just 10 minutes from us in a beautiful home where he is cared for, respected. It’s not just a house, it’s his house. It’s his space. It’s his independence. He’s learning to shop, to manage his daily life, to, in theory, clean!
He’s gaining confidence. He is becoming. For us as his family, that has changed everything. It’s brought peace back into our home. It’s given his siblings the space they need to thrive. It’s giving us room to breathe and to be his parents not his constant, nagging taskmasters. And maybe most important, it’s given us the capacity to keep advocating, because when you’re the parent of a child with special needs, advocating is a full-time job.
Mainstay gave us a space to keep showing up, to keep fighting for Brennan’s future without losing it in the process. But even after finding this incredible program there was a moment when it looked like we might slip through the cracks again – when the cost of housing and support once again felt out of reach. Once again, we didn’t qualify for the support we needed. The scholarship program stepped in, and that changed everything.
The scholarship didn’t just make a difference, it made it possible. Without it, Brennan could not live the way that he does. Without it, we would be back in a situation unstainable for him and for us. The scholarship program caught us before we slipped through the cracks again.
To the donors and supporters in this room – you are the reason why my family can breathe. You are the reason young adults like Brennan have a place to belong. To grow. To build a life that is truly theirs. Because of you, Brennan has a home. Because of you, he has stability and belonging. And because of you, we have hope and the energy to keep going. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Thank you for catching him, for seeing him, and for making sure families like ours never fall through the cracks again.
Thank you again to Kayla Hurst for sharing her family’s story with our audience.
Donate to Mainstay‘s Supporting Success Scholarship fund today!
