JOY STORIES: Early 2025 – Financial guidance and perseverance pay off

Read these brief stories of progress and hope from three families in the FamilyForward program as of early 2025.

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Financial guidance encourages discipline

Mom P joined the FamilyForward program six months ago. Providing sound financial guidance, her volunteer mentors have encouraged her to keep receipts from all her purchases and then enter them in a ledger. This process has helped Mom P be more intentional in her spending. She has a better sense of where her money is going. Last week Mom P told her volunteer mentors, “It takes a lot of discipline to not be in debt. Everything we encounter is encouraging us to spend, spend, spend.” 

Building strength through perseverance

Mom T just completed her first year in the FamilyForward program. The review form asks participants to list what they have learned in the program so far. Mom T wrote, “I have learned that I am stronger than I think. Life throws its punches at me. But I can, and I will, persevere.” 

Nurturing the seeds of success

Single Mom R reached out to her FamilyForward case manager 13 months after graduating from our two-year program. She just got a fantastic new job in her desired field, making $5 per hour more than her previous job paid. Mom R’s most recent success is a reminder that, while families make some progress when they participate in our two-year program, lasting change takes time. FamilyForward volunteer mentors plant seeds. Some seeds will grow during the parent’s time in the FamilyForward program. Some seeds will grow in the future, when the time is right.

When families enter the FamilyForward program, often their primary focus is the need for housing support. However, once the monthly rental assistance helps stabilize their housing situation, the hard work begins. Parents soon realize that it’s the financial and personal guidance and support of their family’s two dedicated volunteer mentors that make the critical difference as they learn to set and meet goals and in turn make significant progress along their journey to financial stability.