Regina's Story of a Mother's Love

What would you do for your mother?
 
Regina worked as an office manager in Atlanta. As a single mother of a teenage son, she made every sacrifice to ensure a good future for him. Her mother guided and inspired her.  “She was always there for me, no matter what. She was my foundation,” says Regina. “And I want to be that kind of mother for my son.”
 
A year ago, Regina’s mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The news shook Regina at the core. She couldn’t imagine a day when she would pick up the phone to share news, but not have her mother to call. Regina wanted to be by her side, and her mother wanted her nearby, too.
 
“I needed to be there with her,” says Regina. She moved back home to Sacramento to care for her mother. With a good resume and work history, Regina was confident that she would find a job in Sacramento.
 
But with unemployment rising to 13.1% in the region, her search was in vain. And life was about to get much worse.
 
Regina’s mother, her rock, her inspiration, passed away. As the last of her mother’s resources were drained away in medical expenses, Regina and her son soon found themselves homeless, sleeping in their car at night, Regina looking for work by day.
 
Will you help us put an end to this kind of homelessness? Regina is not alone. At Women’s Empowerment, over half the women who turn to us are homeless for the first time due to the economy. You can help them get back on their feet with a donation of $100 today. We can send you a greeting card, handmade by one of the women in our program, to make your gift in honor of an extraordinary woman in your life—maybe someone like Regina’s mother.
 
Regina came to Women’s Empowerment bereaved by the loss of her mother, yet eager to draw from her mother’s inspiration and get back on her feet. She was determined to find work, and anxiously absorbed the tools in our job readiness program. She fine-tuned her resume. Intel volunteers helped her advance her computer skills. She met regularly with her social worker to apply for housing programs.
 
“Women’s Empowerment gave me renewed confidence. I built new skills to help me rise above the competition,” says Regina. “And it’s not easy out there. As I’m applying for work, many companies have only one job opening and hundreds of people applying.”
 
Last month, Regina finally made it to the top of a housing list. She and her son are now living in an apartment instead of a car.
 
Equally exciting, Regina is now working again! “I wish my mother were here to share the news,” she says. “Every time my paycheck comes, I have peace of mind,” she says with a sigh of relief.
 
Can you help families like Regina and her son in these difficult times? With your gift, these women will get the critical training and job-seeking assistance they need to provide for themselves and their children.  Please make a gift today.
 
As the women in your life are celebrating Mother’s Day, Women’s Empowerment will be training 43 more women, many of them mothers, to become self-reliant. Last month, we started our largest class yet.
 
Yet, like Regina, these women won’t be homeless for long. After one eight week session at Women’s Empowerment, 91% of graduates secure homes, on average. We have a 60% success rate of helping them find jobs or enroll in school—despite the economy.
 
It’s only possible thanks to caring supporters like you.
 
Thank you for making women like Regina a priority in your life. May your kindness return to you again and again.