“NOW I’M ON MY WAY. I FEEL GOOD ABOUT MYSELF. I FEEL LIKE I CAN BE A PROVIDER FOR MY CHILDREN.”

Gone. All Gone.

It felt like it happened in an instant. My job was gone. Taken. Lost. And next came my home. The new roof over our heads? The local homeless shelter.

A shelter is no place to raise your children, and the courts were inclined to agree. It was then the cold, hard reality of potentially losing custody of my children hit me. Life had not been kind.

I wanted a change. I needed a change. But how? Word of the Woman’s Co-op seemed to find me at every turn. And so, minus bus fare, on a cold, gray winter day I journeyed there on foot.

A New Start

When I arrived it wasn’t just the door of the co-op opening, but the door to a better future for my children and me. A GED, college, nursing school and a place to live all came to be. It’s amazing how far support and encouragement can take a person.

Today I’m studying for my nursing boards, and I actively participate with the co-op in helping others who have come there looking to change their stories.

My name is Charmica, and now I help change the story.

With the generous help of the Woman’s Co-op Charmica was able to change the story. For a complete list of our partners, please click here.

Education

To give children the greatest chance to thrive, we invest in early childhood programs that help each child start school ready to learn.  We also support programs that provide quality child care and after-school activities, get families involved in their children’s education, and help children become leaders.

Health

We are making sure people have access to physical and mental health care, and that babies are born healthy. We work with health care providers to keep costs low and make sure services are available for those with little or no health insurance.