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International Rescue Committee (IRC), a refugee assistance program, provides navigation services for some clients of the San Diego Workforce Partnership (SDWP). IRC is one of many partners providing medical training and support services for the San Diego Workforce Partnership. IRC was instrumental in helping Pas along her journey to career success. They helped Pas enter SDWP’s Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) program funded by the Office of Family Assistance. With the support of the HPOG grant she enrolled in the medical administration program at U.S. Colleges in San Diego and completed her training in February 2014.

Edgar, 59, is about to take the next step in his long-held dream of becoming a nurse now that he has completed the practical nurse (PN) program through Pima Community College (PCC). Once he passes his licensing exam later this month, Edgar plans to work as a licensed practical nurse and start taking the prerequisite classes for the registered nursing program.

In November 2013, Catrina came to the Southland Health Care Forum (SHCF), a Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) program funded by the Office of Family Assistance, after experiencing a number of set-backs in her life. Her contentious divorce just finalized, she was in danger of losing her home and had not worked in four years. Catrina faced the daunting task of rebuilding her life and becoming self-sufficient.

This success story video features Stephanie Salinas, who is an example of how HPOG can take the aspirations and experiences of participants and help turn them into achievement. Stephanie's involvement with Alamo Colleges HPOG in San Antonio, TX helped her persevere to overcome personal and professional difficulties. Her success story is an example of a carefully constructed and collective effort.

Amy became a part of a healthcare cohort, consisting of individuals receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) through Work Source Rogue Valley. It was through this community partnership that Amy learned of the HPOG-funded South Oregon HOPE (SOHOPE) program. She became one of the first SOHOPE participants to be randomly accepted into the HPOG program in March of 2016. SOHOPE staff was supportive and encouraging through any roadblocks she encountered during her training.

Growing up in a dysfunctional family, I learned how to cope with conflict and abuse. At the age of fifteen I was in an abusive relationship which I hid from my family for several years. At age 21, I became pregnant with twins. I lost one baby, but gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Becoming a single mother after my daughter’s father was arrested and sentenced to fourteen years in prison, left me destitute and hopeless.

Albert Einstein once said, "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” In the midst of my dilemma, I learned about Project HOPE. I was excited because my goal is to become a Patient Care Technician. Being accepted into Project HOPE gave me an opportunity to pursue my dream.

Lindsay is a 23-year-old single mother with a 10-month-old baby. Over the past five years, she had been receiving social service benefits while working part time as a waitress. That all began to change in September 2011. Lindsay started out by visiting Erie 1 BOCES to find out about phlebotomy training. She was disappointed to learn training did not begin until February 2012, but she received information about medical office and medical billing programs.

Still interested in pursuing a health care occupation, Lindsay visited the Buffalo Employment and Training Center next. There she impressed the staff with her wonderful personality and commitment to finding a good career. Testing allowed her to demonstrate her strong typing skills, which led to a referral to medical billing training. The availability and timing of that training was much better.

Quinton is a 21-year-old young man from rural South Carolina. He was recruited to Project HOPE through the YouthBuild Program, which helps unemployed low-income youth without a high school diploma obtain a GED and train for an occupation.

Quinton dropped out of high school in the 11th grade to take care of his family. His grandmother was the stable factor in the family. After being home for a while, he decided to enter Job Corps. This did not work out, and he returned home with no direction and nothing to do. A friend gave him a brochure about the YouthBuild program. Quinton completed the application and was accepted in the program.

The program helped him improve his academic skills and taught him how to be a team player and build relationships. The program also helped him to understand the job market and his potential. After his grandmother was placed in a nursing home, all of the responsibility for caring for the family, including his two younger sisters, fell upon his shoulders. After Quinton received his GED, the director of the YouthBuild program told him about Project HOPE. Quinton informed the Project HOPE career counselor that he wanted to further his education, become a leader in his community, and go into the healthcare field. He shadowed an EMS training officer, saw how an EMS helped strangers in distress, and wanted the same opportunity to help others.

When Quinton started Boot Camp, he was extremely shy, but he gradually gained confidence, and the Project HOPE staff discovered that he was a special and sensitive young man. During the afternoon classes, the instructor would approach him, shake his hand, ask how he felt that day and what he had to share, and let him see that he could accomplish the task. The instructor gave him the encouragement he needed, and, as the weeks progressed, others witnessed his big heart. Quinton finally felt like he was accepted by his Boot Camp classmates. The Project HOPE staff noticed that Quinton had a journal and was writing with a passion. He told the staff that he loved to write poetry because it made him feel alive and connected to the world. The staff asked him to share his poem during the graduation ceremony.

Since completing Boot Camp at Midlands Technical College, he has been studying at Central Carolina Technical College to become a Patient Care Technician. He has completed CNA, Phlebotomy, and EKG, which are the three required courses for the position, and is awaiting his certification. Quinton is currently enrolled in the EMS certificate program. After completing this certification, his desire is to complete a four-year degree program in a related health field.

Quinton is currently employed full time with Colonial Health Family Practice in Sumter. His employer has complete confidence in him and has provided him training on the CBC machine. The employer’s satisfaction with Quinton’s work is best summed up in a follow-up email from the hiring manager to the Project HOPE Job Developer: “We love Quinton — thank you so much for sending him to us!”

It has been said that brilliant opportunities are disguised as impossible situations. This holds true for Yukarie Harrison, whose journey toward self reliance was filled with many personal and societal obstacles.

When opportunity came knocking, Harrison was eager to jump at the chance to better herself by enrolling in the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County Health Careers for All. She was excited about the possibilities presented to her in the Medical Business Information Technology (MBIT) training and had well-considered plans for her future.

Toni was a single mom in her early thirties who had been living and working in Atlanta as a successful hair stylist. Her recent divorce had rattled her life, and she knew it was time to take a new direction in order to be self-sufficient. Toni was lucky to have supportive parents who agreed to help her. Her parents agreed to provide childcare, a safe home in Northern Kentucky, and food on the table if she could get herself through school. She signed up at Gateway Community and Technical College to take the Nurse Assistant program in the spring of 2012.

Luckily Toni qualified for the HPOG program to assist her in her classes. She received tuition assistance, a textbook, and one-on-one help in Nurse Assistant skills performance, and HPOG paid for her state Nurse Assistant exam. HPOG staff were there to support her throughout the course as she was taking the first step toward pursuing her Registered Nurse degree. Toni took the assistance and added her own hard work and perseverance to achieve the highest grade in her class and pass the state test.