Jackie's Story: Finding Support

At 18, Jackie aged out of the foster system. She slept on friends’ couches, moving from apartment to apartment as invitations were granted. She delivered pizzas to scrape by. After spending her entire life in foster care, she was angry, scared, resigned, and frustrated. She had no mother’s shoulder to lean on, no one to offer a hug or a word of advice.

When Jackie became pregnant, she knew she had to find a stable home. Earning $500 a month, she moved into the cheapest apartment she could find. It cost her $600 per month. She had never been taught how to budget, and she quickly found herself homeless when she couldn’t pay the bills.

At the age of 21, with a toddler in tow and another baby on the way, Jackie turned to Women’s Empowerment.

At Women’s Empowerment, Jackie learned how to be a better parent. She took anger management classes. She learned about the signs of domestic violence. She learned how to enroll for college, which she plans to do in the fall. Importantly, Women’s Empowerment helped her find housing. Today, she pays only one-third of her income on rent for her two-bedroom condo. Her baby boy is now seven-months old, her daughter is two, and they are all healthy, happy, and importantly, loved!

Women’s Empowerment is more than a job-readiness program. We often become like family to the homeless women who turn to us for help. Like Jackie, these women often lack supportive families and close friends. They build these relationships through our program, which is a major component to their success.