Marcia Shelton – May 1st & May 5th

Marcia Shelton is no stranger to trials and tribulations. She lost her brother in her early twenties and understands first-hand the impact that crisis, including death can have on a family. It wasn’t until much later that Marcia recognized just how much the after effects of the loss echoed into many of her relationships – including with her family and now ex-husband.

Marcia believes that the feeling of loss and guilt, paired with questions that challenge your faith take over and prevent you from taking positive steps to improve your life.

As the Director of Family Services for YSM, she empathizes with the families that come through YSM’s doors every day because she understands the emotions that come along with it. She recognizes that crisis/loss, which can take on many forms – from death of a loved one, to food insecurity and job loss can change the way people see the world. After an unexpected loss, people can become closed off, emotionally detached, causing them to shut down and make it very difficult to developed deep, meaningful relationships. Her own journey helped her empathize with what the families we deal with are going through – emotionally and spiritually and the impact it has on the children and how they view the world. Like Marcia, these families, go into survival mode, trying to get through the day to day and not focusing on the deeply rooted issues that need attention.

For Marcia, there is great value in transparency and transformation (with yourself and your weaknesses/strengths) – it is how you address that that will determine what the results are going to be.