COEUR d'ALENE - Victoria Purviance is not a hero.

She wants to be perfectly clear about that.

TESH deserves the praise.

Because while Purviance adopted the now 15-year-old Russian child with fetal alcohol syndrome and attachment deficit disorder two years ago, it was the supervisors at the nonprofit who enabled the girl to trust.

"Unadoptable" was what the child was considered as she was left unattended in a Russian orphanage.

"I love you guys" is what the girl now tells Purviance and her TESH supporters.

"We became desperate," Purviance said of dealing with the violent and controlling behaviors of a child with attachment deficit disorder. "How are we going to get help here? How are we going to do this? I was afraid, because I saw more chances of this kind of behavior. And we honestly felt vulnerable because we could not trust."

But the Purviances found TESH. And in the two years they've worked together, the supervisors have been instrumental in helping with services such as medical, transportation and intensive behavior interventions.

The nonprofit's goal is to empower disabled people with the ability to engage in the community. No better example of that is going from 'unadoptable' to 'I love you.'

"That's why I got involved," said Dick Jurvelin, of Windermere Coeur d'Alene Realty and retiring board chairman, during the nonprofit's annual breakfast fundraiser Friday at The Coeur d'Alene Resort. "That's my return on investment."

Themed "Pathways to Independence," this year's event featured successes such as the Purviances', but also the importance of keeping TESH going. Operating for more than 30 years, TESH serves 250 people a week, placing them in work environments with 100 local businesses. But the nonprofit, like many of its counterparts, is facing a dire economic situation due to state cutbacks.

It's lost $68,000 in state funds in two years. More bad news is expected next year. But 340 North Idahoans attended Friday's breakfast, contributing financially and offering to volunteer.

"Without the community support we couldn't do it," said Russ Doumas, TESH executive director.

"Our doors would close," incoming board chair Fonda Jovick finished.

The goal is to raise $125,000 this year to keep integration and self sufficiency at an all-time high.

"I thought I knew something," Purviance said of learning to raise her adopted child. "I can't tell you how painful it is to try to bond with a child who does not understand trust."

But now the child does. And she says she loves them.

"What an incredible thing that is," Purviance said.