Jennifer’s Story

I have been faced with many obstacles as I attempt to recover from a failed marriage and find myself a single parent with two toddlers.  One of the major obstacles was child care.  I found myself in a cycle of despair that I could not get myself free from.  I was told that I could not even be put on the wait list for Child Care Services assistance until I worked at least 25 hours a week.  I had a difficult time even finding a job.  I could not figure out how to start work if I was to be offered a job because I had no child care and I had no money to pay for it since I had no job.  I did not see any way out of this cycle but with your help I was finally able to break free.

Up until we were blessed by your board’s decision for funding the child care costs, I had not been able to imagine how to even start a job.  I had been searching for work for months with not one reply or offer.  However, when I finally did receive a job offer I was able to actually accept it and begin working because of your support.  It was perfect timing.

I have been working a contract these last three weeks as an office manager for a private physician’s pain specialty practice.  I have just received another permanent job offer at a local hospital. I get benefits and it is a great opportunity for me and my children.  We could not have been able to stay at my friend’s rental to even accept the offer had I not been able to start working the current job and start paying for utilities.  I got my first paycheck this past Monday and I felt so encouraged to be able to actually make a budget and pay for my car, insurance, phone and utilities.  I know we still can not do this journey on our own so I am so grateful we are part of this community.

We have been given a chance to get out of the hole I found ourselves in.  It has given me hope for a better life today.  I am excited about the possibilities and the opportunities ahead.  I see not just a future of hope and survival but also a present of thriving and success for me and for my children.  I can not thank you enough for being a part of our lives and helping us succeed in spite of the obstacles we have faced.  My children love where they are at and I was so blessed by how quickly and generously you met our needs in our time of crisis.

One year later, Jennifer added this update:
I am now out of my friend’s borrowed home and am now renting an apartment in Georgetown with my own name on the lease (no co-signer).  It is not the public housing I applied for and was on the wait list for.  It’s “affordable housing” but is a wonderful and beautiful apartment complex which is family friendly.  The kids are now off Medicaid and we are using a private insurance company from my employment. We still enjoy and qualify for WIC for Kristen only, which I am grateful for. Christian is now five and has reduced fee lunches and breakfast at his school (He is now in Kindergarten and goes to ESE for after-school care). CCS still assists me, and I am grateful for this.  We are also off food stamps, but kind of miss their generosity.  Kristen goes to a local child care center now, not Head Start, as I anticipated for in my letter.  Although I thought Head Start sounded like a great place, I am so happy and blessed with where she is now.  Her teacher is sooooo loving and Kristen said just yesterday when I picked her up that she had a “really, really good day.”

I can say that after reading my last letter, things in just a year’s time have only gotten better then I planned or hoped for just a year ago.  I still struggle and money is still crazy tight.  I look at my budget and get anxious as the numbers just don’t work on paper.  BUT! I have not been a day late on rent, child care, utilities, or car payments since WC4C stepped in to give me a foot up and out of that place I found myself in just a year ago.