Resource Library

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.

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.

Mai’s family of seven struggled for many years despite her husband’s wages and public assistance. Mai’s business degree lead to inconsistent work, and she soon found herself at home taking care of her family. She knew that she was going to have to make a change to provide the type of life she wanted for her five kids.

In July of 2016, Mai went to the local Department of Human Services office to find a solution. While in the office she noticed a poster for the HPOG-funded Partnership to STEP UP in Health Careers (STEP UP) program operated by Chicago State University. By August of 2016, Mai was selected as a participant and enrolled at South Suburban College to start pre-requisite courses required to enter the Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) Program.

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.

The challenges of today prepare us for tomorrow, while the promise of tomorrow can propel us through the present. For many working, single mothers, the promise of something better is a source of inspiration and resiliency through tough times.

For women like Pam Goberdham, HPOG represents an opportunity to turn dreams deferred into opportunity realized.

Mohammed came to the United States at only 12 years old. His parents immigrated to America with the hope of providing a better life for their family. Poverty was a broad challenge in their native India. Even as a child he knew he had bigger dreams than the hurdles he would encounter in his life.

The melting pot of Houston, Texas came as a culture shock to Mohammed and his family. It took him two full years to overcome the language barrier. Even though he had problems communicating with his peers due to his strong accent, Mohammed enjoyed reading and language arts, but his favorite subjects were math and science. He was fascinated with the human body and its interworking.

Frustrations arose after graduation from high school. Mohammed worried about how he would provide for his family while furthering his education. He made a personal sacrifice, and chose caring for his loved ones over going to school. Fortunately, just as he was thinking of giving up, an HPOG coach from Volunteers of America Texas changed his path. He was working at unsatisfying, minimum wage jobs for the first few years out of high school. He knew he wanted more but needed to work full time to cover the cost of school and take care of his household. The HPOG coach told him the integrated service model could provide the resources and support he needed. The hope of acceptance turned into overwhelming joy for Mohammed and his parents when he was selected to be a part of the HPOG program.