Turning Hope Into Reality
A young woman came to our organization for assistance with her energy bill. She was facing a disconnection. She was 7 months pregnant and had a young child at home, unemployed, had little education, and had no transportation; her outlook on her situation was very bleak. The staff addressed the immediate crisis of the disconnection and completed an assessment that identified the following about the individual: She had no high school diploma or GED, no income, no employment, no driver's license, no transportation, an unsafe and unsanitary housing situation, no previous work history and experienced generational poverty.

With the guidance and aid of ESP, the individual gained employment at Burger King®. She obtained her learner's permit and received an income tax refund the following year after being employed. After purchasing a car with her refund, she obtained her GED, entered a Management Program at Burger King® and was promoted to Crew Leader. She now has transportation, lives in safe sanitary housing, completed her GED, enrolled in Columbus Technical College to further her education, has employment history, is no longer in need of public assistance, except for subsidized housing and maintained employment.