For the past few years Happy House Community United in San Jose has been running a program for the parents of children that use the center. This program has been sponsored and funded by the City of San Jose.

To say that the program has been an enormous success is actually something of an understatement. What follows here is a long compilation of success stories written by parents doing the Good Choices program in San Jose. Enjoy!

This program has helped me have better communication with my daughter. It has helped me be more tolerant, have more patient, and set a good example. I learned to be more respectful towards her, and be grateful for her help, and value all of her help and being grateful for her trying. I also learned about gangs, and how to observer more around me, I have learned to observe more.

There has been changes in my daughter. She communicates more, helps, and she learned how to ask others for help when she can’t figure something out. She has also been more honest with herself and with everyone else, and she helps in anything she can.

Crafts, reading,  and ceramics.

Thank you all of you for your time and effort you put in the program, and for being involved with the community. Big thank you. — MR

My kids were already nice and caring but I think this program helped them a lot more. They have better attitudes. As a mother, this program is very valuable for our kids and to us as parents. Personally, I am very grateful. Thank you very much for thinking about our community, for thinking about the youth and thinking about the parents as well. It was a pleasure.

As a mother, I would want to know if there is another program that helps the youth and the parents a lot? Thank you so much. — SG

I learned to understand my kids, and how to give them better education so they can be someone when they grow up and to be good citizens.

To develop more, being more efficient at home, she is more aware now and talks to us more, she behaves better with her sisters, and she tries to help others. Many good changes.

Thank you everyone for sponsoring these big and good things for our family. Very grateful. — JT

I learned a lot about how to understand my kids, and help them during their hard times. I learned to recognize when they are hanging out with people who are involved in gangs. How to dedicate time for them, and sharing nice moments as family. There are many interesting topics, and this program has helped my family a lot. Thank you so much.

My daughter has asked me a lot of questions about what we discuss here. I feel like she’s more cautious by wanting to know things like with who and how. — EC

How to communicate with our kids, and know how to have patience with our kids.

Thank you it was a great class, and it was helpful learning in the class. — MS

How to communicate with our kids, be friendly, how to understand,  and how to socialize. I learned to be organized and more clean.

How to discuss the topics with our kids that come in the book, so it can benefit the kids.Thank you. — ES

I learned to have a good communication, I learned to be more organized, and to be clean. I learned how to distinguish what gangs are, and how to recognize the type of tattoos gang members typically have. I leaned what to do when you park your car far from work, and many more.

I saw a huge change in my kids. They are more friendly, communicate more, and they help a lot more.

This workshop is very important for me but I would like to have more workshops because they are important. — JC

I learned that we should not obligate our kids to something they do not want to. A better way for them to do things, and we setting a good example. To be more involved with them to know about their friendships, what they do at school, who are their friends, what do they know about their friends, and give them trust so they can trust us with their problems.

I learned to respect the times they are allowed to use their phones and television.

I would like to have something regarding therapy for couples who are having relationship problems. — OP

I have better communication with my children and grandchildren. I learned to be comprehensive, how to connect with them, and I learned how to be a better person in general.

My daughter is more .friendly with me, and helps more with the activities at home, and she participates in conversations at home with the family. — IH

I learned to have more patience with my kids. I learned to listen to my kids more, and that I have to look at them in the eyes so they can know I am listening. When one of my kids is talking I have to stop what I am doing because my kids are more important.

They have always helped me but when I would ask for help or anything she would get mad, but after these classes that’s not the case anymore. He actually does not wait for me to ask for the help, but simply just does it.

I would like to know more about “Positive discipline.” — MS

Being more patient, listen, take them into consideration, respect them, give them trust, to observe them, and to tell them they are important in life.

They have been more obedient, listen more, and helping more at home. — DR

I learned to have better communication with my daughter, how to be a better mother, how to help my kids solve their problems, and help them have better self esteem.

She’s more calm, has a better relationship with me, she helps more at home, better self esteem, talks more about her problems and private topics with me. — CG

I learned to communicate more with my kids when they want to talk to me, and to listen to them, pay attention to them, and to sit down to talk to them. — AV

I learned to communicate more with my daughter, and I learned to identity gang association, and how to know when our kids are interested in gangs, and also to help the environment by our actions and the community.

My daughter helps more with cleaning at home, and she communicates better with me and my husband. She learned to listen and explain herself clearly, and she learned to clean around her to help the environment.

I would like to please add more classes to help the youth and adolescents. — AA

I believe my son has accomplished communication with his parents. He has also endured everything with more calmness and patience.

My son is doing better in school, and he is very respectful. He also helps others. — AM

I learned to have tolerance when talking to my daughter without screaming and getting mad, and to help her with any problems.

She helps me more, and she is more noble in her heart. — JF

The result of this program has been better communication, share nice moments with the family, and have mutual help. Thank you so much. — LP

I learned to have more communication with my kids, to have more patience, and I am spending more time with my kids, and I believe this program has helped me everything.

She has me more at home, she is more friendly, and this program has helped her with all of this. — DA

I learned to talk to my kids, to understand them, and to help them, and to be a better person and a better mother.

I have noticed that it helped her be more calm and think before she speaks, and the program helped a little with her rebellion. — AG