Creating New Friends and New Paths

 

Looking back, Virginia knows she could be living a very different life. Today, she has a steady new job at a local restaurant and is the proud mom of a vivacious, 10 year old, working and building a safe and secure home life for herself and her daughter. It wasn’t always that way.

Like so many who have fallen on hard times during the recession, Virginia was struggling to get by while trying to provide a stable life for her daughter. She worked a series low-paying minimum wage jobs that just barely covered her expenses. Plus she was worried about making sure that her daughter was safe and how she would pay for an after-school program for her. Most of all, though, she wanted to find a place that she and her daughter could call home.

When she first came to look at the apartments at University Commons, she was excited to see that Phoenix Family offered an after-school program for Breanna and could also give her support.  She knew that she had to first enroll her daughter in school, but she was confused by the enrollment process and came to Phoenix Family for help. Together, we walked with her through the process, helping to get her daughter enrolled in school and in the after-school program.

“The after-school program is a god-send.”

When you ask Virginia and her daughter what they like about the after-school program, Virginia focusses on the fact that it gives her daughter a safe place to go after school, keeps her busy, and helps to get her homework done— giving her peace of mind while she is at work. She also mentions that, because it’s offered for free to every child in the community, she doesn’t have to worry so much about her bills each month. 

But when you ask Breanna about the program – she, very seriously, says that it’s great because she has friends there. Oh, and she does her homework, too.

But, really, isn't it always about the friends?