Success Stories

“Most of all, I wanted so bad for my kids to have a dad and grow up in a family.” As a young adult, Jonia’s determination to create an ideal family for her children led her deeper and deeper into an abusive relationship. With the support of Live & Learn, Jonia eventually realized that a different life was possible. Once she realized that, there was no stopping her. Jonia was raised by a single mother in Phoenix. She did well in high school and immediately enrolled at Phoenix College. At 19, she had her first child. The demands of caring

Celeste grew up in foster care in Phoenix. When she was 18 years old, she moved in with a boyfriend who abused her emotionally, physically, and sexually. That same year, she had her first child. The abuse continued, but Celeste lacked the self-confidence and the resources to leave. It would take another pregnancy, the help of Live & Learn, and her realizing her own strength before she would change her life. At age 22, finding herself pregnant a second time, Celeste experienced “a feeling of responsibility for my children that made me realize I had to make a better life

 Erika is a Dreamer: she immigrated to AZ from Mexico with her family when she was fifteen years old and lives in Phoenix under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). DACA allows Erika to stay in the country without fear of deportation, but it bars her from many opportunities enjoyed by citizens, including financial aid for school. Despite her limited legal status, Erika is a hard-working mother who, as a Live and Learn client, is determined to make a better life for herself and her children. When Erika’s family first immigrated to Arizona, they shared a tiny apartment with another

You won’t meet a more driven 21-year-old than Shekinah. In January 2018, she became a Live and Learn client and entered the TOTAL Career Pathway (Training on Technology and LifeSkills). This program is offered by Live and Learn in partnership with YearUp. For 7 months, Shekinah took classes and worked part-time. Then, in August, she began a prestigious internship with Bank of America. She gets up every morning at 5am to catch the bus to her internship, and still works on the weekend to make ends meet. With Live and Learn’s help, she’s getting closer to realizing her dream of

For 13 years, Jaymie lived in an emotionally and financially abusive relationship. She could see the effect it had on her two children, and she wanted desperately to leave for their sake. Without support, though, she returned, “cycling back” to the violence she so desperately wanted to escape. Then, in 2017, Jaymie was accepted into Live and Learn, where she has received the emotional and financial support she needed to break the cycle of violence, gain financial self-sufficiency, and heal herself and her children. Jaymie remembers her teenage years as a difficult time. Her father passed away from cancer. She