At 28 years old, Jany found herself trapped in the cycle of abuse and poverty that her mother and her grandmother had experienced before her. She was determined to break the cycle for her two young daughters, despite the risks.
Jany had tried to leave her abusive husband once, before she was a mother. However, she had been unable to support herself and ended up homeless. Eventually, she returned to her husband because she had nowhere else to go. As time passed, her husband’s abuse escalated to the point that Jany feared for her and her daughters’ lives.
One day, at the end of 2021, when Jany’s husband went to work, she took her daughters and fled. They went to a domestic violence shelter where she knew, finally, they would be safe. Jany secured a minimum-wage job at an office cleaning company, and she and her daughters moved into a small apartment. Unfortunately, it would not be long before Jany cycled back.
Problems mounted now that Jany was out on her own. Her wages barely covered rent and childcare, and the SNAP benefits she received to buy groceries were limited. Most days, Jany barely ate so that her daughters had enough. The physical demands of her job exacerbated Jany’s back and neck problems, sustained during her years of living with domestic violence.
A teacher at the Headstart center that Jany’s daughter attends referred Jany to Live & Learn.
“Live & Learn was different right away. There’s so many numbers you’re told to call for help, and it takes so long to get through, and you just get forms and checkboxes…but Live & Learn made it easy right away. It was clear immediately that the woman I spoke with cared about my situation and she understood what I was going through.”
With Live & Learn, Jany accessed rental assistance resources that covered her rent for three months. During that time, she completed a caregiving certification program and secured a new job that pays $19/hour. She made a budget and learned how to stretch her SNAP benefits by shopping at farmer’s markets. At the same time, Jany started going to counseling, visited a doctor to address her back and neck injuries, and attended parenting workshops.
Less than one year after beginning Live & Learn’s program, Jany says,
“I cannot believe how much I have changed, me! It’s not just that I have a certification and a good job, but I feel inside like a new woman. It lets me be the mom for my daughters that they need me to be.”
