The District Chronicles

Issue date: 12/14/08 Section: Cover

Media Credit: Robert Eubanks/Staff Photographer

In a way, Dashon Forrest is like any other teenager.  He likes video games, watching music videos on YouTube and has girlfriends. But 14-year-old Dashon is also different.

He suffers from Neurofibromatosis I, a debilitating disorder of the bones, skin, eyes and nervous system. He has glaucoma and occasional seizures.  He sees more than 14 doctors a day, is classified as emotionally disturbed and has separation anxiety.

"Teachers said he was mildly retarded and wouldn't learn anything," said Joyce Forrest, his mother.

But the ninth grader at High Road Academy in Lanham, Md., now has a 3.5 grade point average and hopes to attend Howard University.  Joyce adopted Dashon when he was four after his problems got too much for her niece to handle .

"I just could not idly watch as Dashon was physically and emotionally neglected," Joyce said.  "He was an angel that could not come at a better time."

Joyce, 59, had her own challenges, too.  Her sons, Keith and Sean had died a year earlier. Dashon filled the void they had left in her life. Keith, 30, died from a seizure that doctors couldn't determine what triggered it.

"He was at a party on a Spirit Cruise, there were strobe lights that could've caused it," said Joyce.

Her other son, Sean, was only 20 when he was shot and killed in a robbery in 1993.  His murder remains unsolved. Joyce has also won two battles against breast cancer. And years ago, a fall left her unable to walk without assistance.  After several spinal surgeries, she now walks with a cane.  

Now, Dashon and Joyce are each other's rock, with assistance from Quality Trust, an organization which helps nearly 30,000 disabled people in DC. When Joyce falls on hard times, Quality Trust helps pay her bills.  But more than anything, the Trust helps the Forrests live like other families.

"We try to be the one place that knows places each family can tap to be strong and thrive," said Trust Executive Director Tina Campanella.

Joyce has moved from being a Trust client to an advocate for others. Her story began in 2006 when she went to apply for food stamps at the Income Maintenance Administration service center on H Street, Northeast. A worker at the office told her she was fat and did not need food stamps.

"I was heart broken and distressed," said Joyce. "I left and did not return."

Continued...

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