Resource Library

Fort Totten, ND

 The key to success lives in every one of us.

Amber, a single mother from North Dakota, is a perfect example of overcoming one’s circumstances. As early as high school, Amber had a passion for helping others and learning as much as she could. At sixteen, she got pregnant with her first child and had to drop out of school. She did odd jobs to make ends meet, but found it difficult to find full time work without a diploma.

Amber knew that she needed to take steps to build a life for her family. She was living in a shelter with her three children, two of whom have special needs, and had recently left an abusive relationship. She moved to North Dakota, and put herself through Emergency Medical Training (EMT) school at night. Amber got a job at the local hospital as an EMT, but she had to work overtime shifts just to cover their bills. The job gave her the confidence to pursue her next goal of becoming a paramedic, but she still had doubts.

At this time, Amber discovered the HPOG funded  Next Steps II program . She applied, got accepted, and started her journey to becoming a paramedic. With Next Steps II assistance and guidance, nothing could stop Amber not even health setbacks.

HPOG is here to help you cross the finish line.

DaShouna came to the Wichita Workforce Center in September 2016.

She was one semester away from completing her Associates of Applied Science in Nursing and gaining her Registered Nurse (RN) license.

She had nine years of experience in the healthcare industry as a Home Health Aide. DaShouna was already on the right path to ensure a brighter future for herself and nine children. As a single mother, she relied on childcare from family, as well as programs such as TANF, SNAP, Section 8, Medical Card, and Free/Reduced lunches for her kids. Despite assistance, the money ran out and she could no longer afford her tuition.

DaShouna learned of the HPOG-funded Kansas Health Profession Opportunity Program (KHPOP) through fellow students. A KHPOP Career Coach met with DaShouna in October 2016 to discuss training and employment goals. With her student grant and loan options exhausted, the Career Coach decided that DaShouna would be a perfect candidate for “Wild Card” entry into KHPOP during her last semester of college. Each HPOG program has a limited number of Wild Cards, which allow program directors to bypass random assignment to serve participants with unusual circumstances. DaShouna had put so much of her own time and resources into her education that it took little time to gather the necessary documentation to award the Wild Card and enroll her in the KHPOP program.

Angela came to the Southland Health Care Forum (SHCF), a Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) program funded by the Office of Family Assistance in January 2012, after experiencing a number of setbacks in her life. Angela, a hard-working and devoted mother, worked for over 19 years in the cosmetology industry, most recently as an instructor. But in 2011, she lost her full time job and for almost two years tried to find another one with a livable wage that would support her family. Angela and her family went from living comfortably to facing the possibility of being homeless.

Unable to find work in the cosmetology field, Angela agonized over what her next step would be. When she thought about going back to school, she wasn’t afraid of being in the classroom again, but was fearful that, as she had seen with many people she knew, she’d have to take out student loans and still would land a low paying job. Seeing the struggles of others who had taken this path scared her and Angela found herself falling into a state of depression.

The need to support her family, however, pushed Angela into action and she began to research medical training opportunities in her community. She contacted nearby Prairie State College, which referred her to SHCF in Chicago Heights, Illinois.

Angela immediately called SHCF to learn about the accelerated nursing program. Worried about tuition costs, she first asked how much the program cost and learned that it was free because of HPOG funding. This helped alleviate some of Angela’s greatest fears about student loan debt and paved the way for her re-entry into the workforce. It also made Angela feel like SHCF cared about her success and that she wasn’t just a number.

During pre-qualification testing, Angela did poorly on the pre-requisite math test, so SHCF provided tutoring. After she successfully passed all pre-qualification tests and submitted the required documentation, Angela started training to be a Certified Medical Assistant in February 2013.

Twenty-five year old Pabitra entered the New Hampshire Health Profession Opportunity Project (HPOP), a Health Profession Opportunity Grants program (HPOG), funded by the Office of Family Assistance, in the summer of 2011 just a few months after settling in the United States from her native Bhutan. From age 1½ until she moved to the United States at 21, Pabitra lived in a refugee camp in Nepal. Refugees in the camp lived in huts, which were jammed together, creating an unhealthy living environment. People received only basic health care, and Pabitra witnessed many inhabitants struggle with significant health issues. As she matured, she volunteered in the camp as part of a team training residents on proper sanitary procedures. The experience spurred her desire to work in the medical field. Once in the United States, Pabitra searched for opportunities to fulfill this dream.

These tables provide demographic data on the age, gender, and race/ethnicity of adults and children in TANF and Separate State Program (SSP)-Maintenance-of-Effort (MOE) active families and closed cases, as well as data on the financial circumstances of TANF cash assistance recipients.

A South Carolina father is making the best of his second chance at life.

Adrayll was the recipient of a lifesaving liver transplant in April of 2017. Through the months of recovery, he looked to build a plan to provide for his wife and two young daughters while maintaining his health.

He heard about a grant program while talking to his caseworker at the Chester County Department of Social Services (DSS). The HPOG-funded Project HOPE would provide Adrayll entry to the very career field that helped save his life.

For six and a half years, Denise has been a working single mom to three girls. While working as an employment specialist she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to quit her job to recover. After her cancer treatments, she returned to that work, this time supporting adults with disabilities. But due to budget cuts at her employer, Denise lost her job and was unemployed for several months, unable to find work in a lagging economy.

Denise knew she wanted to go to school and was starting the process of applying for financial aid. She was discouraged to learn that financial aid was not available for short-term programs and she would not be able to afford a nursing assistant program. A friend told her about the CATCH program at Edmonds Community College , a Health Profession Opportunity Grants project funded by the Office of Family Assistance. Denise saw CATCH as an opportunity to help get her on the right track.

In 2014, Cassandra applied for a health care career scholarship at the Full Employment Council (FEC) 21st Century Healthcare Works program (21st Century), a Health Profession Opportunity Grants program (HPOG) of the Office of Family Assistance. Cassandra, a single mother, was receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance and living in Parkville, Missouri, a small city outside of Kansas City. She was struggling to provide for her eight year old son and had a temporary, part-time job at a fast food restaurant. The work helped her pay the bills, but she wasn’t making enough to get off of public assistance. She wanted a career that would provide a good income and benefits for her family.

Htay is a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at Aurora St. Luke’s Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, an acute care hospital that partners with the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board’s (MAWIB) CareerWorks Healthcare Training Institute (HTI). Each afternoon Htay arrives at work ready to do her job and is proud of the work she does helping people and making a difference in their lives. Htay was determined to advance in her career and knew that MAWIB’s HTI, a Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) program funded by the Office of Family Assistance, was there to help.

Kristin Barker was a new single mother with low wages and relied on state assistance to support herself and her son. She had planned a military career but things did not work out as she had thought, and she now had a baby to care for. She struggled just to keep a roof over their heads, have transportation, and put food on the table. She felt education was the place to start over but did not see how that could happen.

Her maternity support specialist at SeaMar, a community service clinic, told Kristin about the CATCH program . A job in healthcare had been Kristin’s “plan B” because she believes in contributing back to society in a positive manner. She wanted stability for her son, and her low-wage job was not going to offer opportunity for growth. So she took the leap and applied for the CATCH program’s Nursing Assistant program as the first step to a new chance for herself and a better situation for her son.