Leticia

“My father passed away when I was three years old in a car accident, so I really didn’t know him. I had four brothers and one sister. I tell myself, and I even tell God, ‘Thank you for my sister’ because she’s a blessing to me. She’s been there for me. We help each other.”

“When I was in high school I took careers with children and child development so I could learn the psyche of... children, what they go through, and I learned to break the cycle. I learned that if you keep staying in an abusive family, that cycle continues and continues. So I broke it with my daughter. I left... I didn’t want my daughter raised with that... I never looked back... [I broke it] by leaving California. I moved to Clarkesville with just my daughter. My sister was there but she was in the military, so she lived in the barracks. We got a one bedroom apartment. I didn’t have a man in my life for the whole time I raised [my daughter] because I didn’t want the same thing that happened to me to happen to her. I made sure she had a good childhood. I tried to make sure she was safe. I let her have her own mind. I just wanted her to have a happy life.”

“My mother’s got dementia. My mother would go out wandering the streets when my sister was at work or gone. At the time, I was working at Vanderbilt. I told my friends, ‘Well I have to go take care of my Mom for a week or two.’ For a whole month, I was only here for one week. So when I came back, I was behind on my rent, and I lost my job. Then the landlord raised the rent, and I wasn’t able to get caught up. I ended up leaving and staying in hotels whenever I worked. I would have to pay for the hotels daily, and that was just taking all my money. I ended up panhandling but didn’t like that. I ended up on the streets a couple of times but thought ‘this isn’t me.’ I like to work for my money.”

“I found Community Care Fellowship from a friend on the streets. Someone told me where it was at and that they could help. I was talking with [a career counselor] at CCF, and they told me about UNLOCKED. After interviewing, I joined the Unlocked Pathways program a few weeks later. I like working with my hands. My grandmother showed us how to knit and embroider things. I learned how to be useful with my hands. We do little arts and crafts things. It’s satisfying. I feel like I’m accomplishing something, doing something. I get to make this pretty little jewelry.”