Pritzker Children's Initiative Fellow

There has been a lot of pain in Helena Girouard’s life, more than anyone deserves, but listening to her speak, it’s impossible not to feel the hope she represents for so many. There’s a strength in her voice she may not even know is there. It has to be strong, because most of the people she speaks for don’t yet have a voice, and those who do, may not know what to say.

Helena (far right) with members of the Pritzker Fellowship.

Helena graduated from Daytona State College in 2017 with an Associate of Science in Human Services with a Specialization in Addiction, as well as an AA degree. She’ll graduate this December from Flagler College with her BS in Public Administration, but is already making an impact through her work as part of the Pritzker Children’s Initiative Fellowship.

Among its objectives, the initiative seeks to expand high-quality early learning opportunities and the well-being of disadvantaged children. It’s the perfect fit for Helena, whose degrees highlight what she’s learned in the classroom, but whose life experience has taught her things that extend far beyond that. That gives her the ability to reach people that few others can.

Helena grew up in Ohio as a busy teenager, involved in just about everything her high school was doing. Whether it was clubs, student leadership positions or sports, she wanted to be in the middle of it all. She graduated eighth in her class, but when she went away to college, Helena went the opposite direction.

From 2002-05, Helena bounced back and forth between Ohio University and what was then Daytona Beach Community College. She had spent summers in Ormond Beach when she was younger, and her father had moved there, so there was a natural connection to Florida. She attended DBCC during the 2003-04 school year, but her attendance was sporadic.

“I’d enroll in classes, go for a couple of weeks, and then not show up, or show up and do none of the work,” said Helena. “I’m not really sure what I was thinking.”

Her one year at Daytona State was followed by another year back at Ohio University before she moved to Florida permanently in 2005.

By that time, her mother, younger sister and younger brother had migrated to Florida too, but that didn’t make things any easier for Helena. While living in Gainesville and working in the restaurant industry, she was introduced to the opioid scene, and lost everything she had in a downward spiral that resulted in multiple arrests, but even then, she hadn’t hit bottom.

After returning home to Ormond Beach, Helena was exposed to worse, but after learning she was pregnant in 2013, she made a series of decisions that turned her life around as she began digging out of a deep hole. It started with a visit to the health department and Dr. Pam Carbiener.

“She asked me about my background and saw how I had tried going to college. She said I had potential and I thought she was absolutely nuts, and I was just this junkie sitting in her office. Dr. Carbiener was one of the first people to say something like that to me in 10 years.”

Helena was determined that her baby would not be born dependent. On December 13, 2013, with the encouragement of Dr. Carbiener, she went to the hospital and spent six days in detox so her baby wouldn’t have to when she was born a few weeks later, on January 22, 2014.

Helena knew she still had to make amends for the things she had done, which included resolving warrants for her arrest, but that didn’t make it easy, especially with a newborn daughter. Nevertheless, she made another in her series of decisions to get her life back on track, knowing how much it would hurt.

“That one was the hardest, handing my two-week old baby over to my mom, walking into a jail, and saying, ‘I have warrants, here I am.’”

Helena was gone for 71 days, but after being released, she was able to complete the sixmonth treatment program she had already started in December before going to Family Renew, an organization that gives homeless families with children a safe and stable place to live while rebuilding their lives. By then, her daughter was 10 months old, and Helena could finally concentrate on doing just that.

As part of getting her life back in order, Helena came back to Daytona State, more than 10 years after first attending. “My earlier student loans were in default, my credits were all over the place and I had destroyed my GPA. I think all of the appeals you could possibly do, I had to do,” Helena said, with a laugh.

It took some effort, but Helena was able to balance her work schedule, classes and taking care of her daughter. Through Daytona State’s AS degree program in Human Services, she was also required to do two externships, and that was initially a challenge because of her background. Ultimately, all parties involved found a way to pull it off, and as a result, Helena was able to work with Healthy Start, an organization that had provided assistance for her daughter when Helena was in treatment. By doing both of her externships there, she learned more about their mission and was in the perfect spot to take another step toward her goals.

Near the end of her time at Healthy Start, she learned about the Public Administration BS program at Flagler College with a grant attached to it. Thinking it might be too good to be true, Helena talked to her DSC advisor and learned it was the real deal. She applied and was accepted into the program, but the connections she made during her time at Healthy Start paid off in another way.

While working two jobs, she got a call from the Thrive by Five Collaborative, which was applying for a fellowship from the Pritzker Children’s Initiative. Although being told they preferred someone with a Ph.D., she was welcomed into the fellowship based on the overwhelming strength of her life experience. Everything she had been through, from the difficult circumstances surrounding her daughter’s birth, a return to college, to her time spent with Healthy Start, had put her in a position where she could be a voice for others in similar situations.

As one of only 13 members of the Pritzker Fellowship nationwide, Helena is involved in creating policies and programs that assist the most vulnerable children by establishing connections with parents, childcare providers, mental health specialists, and others. Part of her work involves traveling across the country, attending conferences, or speaking to various groups herself.

Helena still remembers being in the courtroom after turning herself in for outstanding warrants. She had 18 people standing with her that day and 57 letters of recommendation that formed the building blocks of her future. She remembers Dr. Carbiener, whose encouragement set her on the right path, and whom she credits for making sure she had a healthy baby girl and stronger relationships with her entire family. Now she’s able to give that same support to others.

Visiting with former first lady of Florida, Ann Scott in Tallahassee. from left: Helena Girouard, Ann Scott and Dixie Morgese, Executive Director of Healthy Start Coalition of Volusia & Flagler Counties,Inc.

Helena and her mentor, Dr. Pam Carbiener, receiving awards from Healthy Start Coalition of Volusia & Flagler Counties, Inc.

“I can be one of those 18 people for someone else now. There have been times when I could not understand why I had to go through something, but because I did, I’m able to help someone else like me.”

www.DaytonaState.edu/Magazine