PROVIDING EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT
At ACHIEVEability, Toni knows “There are people here that Care. They want you to succeed.”
Toni’s story is similar to that of many single parents ACHIEVEability serves. At 19, Toni made an incredibly brave decision to flee an abusive relationship with her three-year-old son and ended up in shelter. “I was trying to get out of a really bad situation,” Toni said. “I didn’t care what I was going to do, I just knew I wasn’t going back.” She was a hard worker, and had a job working as a waitress in Germantown, but she felt stuck. The commute from her shelter to work took hours out of her day. She didn’t know how to get out of the shelter system and wondered what steps she could take to better life for her and her son. “I was stagnant,” she says about that time in her life, “I didn’t know what I could do.” Then she found ACHIEVEability.
“When I came to ACHIEVEability and they explained the process,” she said, “I liked what they stood for. You have to work, you have to go to school. You have to do them both, you can’t choose. I like the fact that they’re pushing you, pushing you to do better.”
Toni was used to working hard, and already knew that she wanted to get back to school. She had the determination to succeed, and just needed a little help along the way. “When ACHIEVEability called me back and told me I would be part of the program I was ecstatic,” Toni said. “I was so excited.”
In 2010, Toni moved into an ACHIEVEability home and became part of the Family Self-Sufficiency Program, our transformational program that helps single parent families overcome social and economic barriers to thrive. Toni worked with her coaches at ACHIEVEability to map out a plan to help her family achieve their goals. First on list for Toni was to get a better job. She and her coach created a new resume and practiced interviewing. With this experience, Toni had the confidence and skills to earn higher paying jobs at Marriot and Sheraton hotels. In 2012, she secured a job in customer relations at Amtrak. Toni has worked at Amtrak for the past 7 years, moving up the ranks to positions with higher pay and more responsibilities. She enjoys customer service because of the chance to work directly with people.
Toni’s academic coach helped her enroll in college. Her coach even provided tutoring and support, to help Toni obtain an Associate Degree from Community College of Philadelphia in 2015. Toni’s proudest accomplishment is that she is on the Dean’s List at Temple University and plans to graduate this spring with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management. Even though she’s been working hard for the past 10 years and has achieved so much, Toni still has ambitions. After graduating, she plans to secure a higher paying job that will offer her and her children more stability, and begin the process of buying a house. ACHIEVEability is helping her take the first steps by providing her with invaluable support through credit building and financial education workshops.
Toni’s story is just one example of a family flourishing through ACHIEVEability’s support. Last year, ACHIEVEability provided affordable housing to 131 single mothers with 276 children. 48% of those families came directly from shelters and 60% have experienced domestic violence like Toni. The Family Self-Sufficiency Program is life-changing for the families it serves.
ACHIEVEability has given Toni and her children a stable base so that they can move forward on their family goals. Mary-Jane recently started pre-school, and Tyrik is in 7th Grade. Tyrik is a budding artist who loves drawing and will jump at the chance to share details about his latest art project. Mary-Jane is a chatty, outgoing ball of joy, who loves spending time with the family pets and her older brother.
Toni said that being part of the program made her feel like she could take on the world. “I realized,” she said with pride, “that it actually helps influence my little sisters and brothers and my kids because they look up to me, they admire me. They’re like ‘You’re always on to something, you’re never still.’” Toni is an example of the ways that the Family Self-Sufficiency Program can break the cycle of poverty for a family. By providing a role model for her children, Toni has taught Tyrik and Mary-Jane about the importance of hard work and value of education. And, with her increased education and economic stability, Toni has the resources to help her children succeed. My son always says, “‘Mom, when I grow up I’m going to work like you.’” Growing up with a parent who has a college degree and economic stability, Tyrik and Mary-Jane won’t have to face the same difficulties that Toni did. That’s how we break the generational cycle of poverty, one family at a time.