I’ve had the fortune of being in Pathways to Independence since June 2022. I had just graduated from my community college and been accepted into my dream university, but I was also on the verge of losing everything I’d known. With no contact from almost my entire family, I didn’t have anywhere to go once my immediate relatives moved out of state without me. Right at the time I would’ve been homeless to continue my education or become a university drop-out to afford an apartment, my therapist helped me find Pathways–another chance to keep going.
With the immense support from Pathways like tuition assistance, covered therapy, stable housing, and the multitude of other resources, I’m now pursuing multiple bachelor degrees at California State University, Long Beach, which had been my dream university since my field trip during my freshman year of college. Now I’m pursuing job and internship opportunities that supplement my classes and give me an extra boost in my professional development. I hope to someday become a college counselor in a department that helps students who are undergoing or at risk of homelessness.
With my focus on the rising rates of homelessness for young girls and women, I want to return to Pathways as a supporter, whether as a director working with multiple clients or as a mentor for a client truly in need of someone who understands. Pathways has done so much to help women like me, so it’ll be an honor to give back through this program.
