Live and Learn help me a lot while I was in school as well as after I graduated while trying to find a job in the field.  They not only help me financially but they also motivated me throughout my whole journey.

Now I am working in the Pharmacy Technician field and I am able to provide better life for my Family.

Live and Learn wasn’t just supportive with school and finding a job; they helped with my home life. It felt like they could help with anything. They listen and understand no matter what’s going on.

In 2017, overwhelmed by the frustration of not finding a job and the stress from the financial strain on her family, Cathy began calling every agency she could find that might offer support to women trying to further their education and careers. Many of the numbers she called were disconnected; others never returned her messages; still others asked her to complete lengthy application processes only to decline her application with little or no explanation. Then, she called Live and Learn. As Cathy recalls,

Live and Learn made it incredibly easy. They returned my phone call immediately, and they had no limitations or stipulations about how they would help me.

Live and Learn helped Cathy return to PIMA for further job training in March 2017. She refreshed her Respiratory Therapy knowledge by auditing classes, she earned advanced certifications, and she gained clinical experience. “I took every opportunity PIMA offered, and it really left me well prepared,” she explains. Live and Learn offset the costs, which would have been prohibitive for Cathy. Live and Learn also helped Cathy prepare for job interviews and handle the emotional stress of the process.
With Live and Learn’s help, Cathy went back on the job market in early September 2017. By the end of the month, she accepted a job offer to be a Registered Respiratory Therapist at Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix. Cathy is excited to be working with a variety of patients in the hospital, and to finally be using her knowledge to help people.

Plans for the Future

After eight years of unemployment, Cathy is excited to begin her new job. She is on the waitlist for the nursing program at the Maricopa Community Colleges. Until then, she plans to keep working as a Respiratory Therapist. She is excited for a career that allows her to support her family, but also that offers opportunities to keep learning and growing.

“Women come out of these cycles of poverty and abuse, and it’s so hard to learn to live again. It’s so hard to break away from these things and still have faith and hope.”

It took Paula three days to devise the first step of her plan. Among dozens of shelters across the country, she found an opening at Phoenix Rescue Mission. Paula reasoned, “It was so far away, I thought he couldn’t find me but also I couldn’t go back to him even if I wanted to.” 

With the distance between her and her previous life, Paula needed to figure out the next step. She was now a single mother in a city where she knew no one, had no car, no home, no job. “I needed a new life, a good life,” and she was prepared to work for it.

Paula began classes at Pima Medical Institute within months of moving to Arizona. Unfortunately, Paula suffers from numerous, debilitating physical ailments including arthritis, lupus, and fibromyalgia, as do many domestic violence survivors. In January 2018, just months into her classes, Paula had to go on medical leave. Staff at Pima provided her with a list of organizations that assist women, and she started making calls. Live and Learn answered, and, in less than a week, she was able to interview with Ruby and was accepted as a client.

Live and Learn has helped Paula provide for her children, heal emotionally, and form strong social bonds. “They took away all of my excuses to stop and give up.”

While Paula lives with her children in transitional housing and pursues her education, Live and Learn is able to provide financial support. Over the summer, Live and Learn helped Paula with childcare costs. While completing her externship, Live and Learn helps with rent. If needed, Live and Learn can provide a bus pass or a grocery credit. Financial dependence is a powerful factor for many abuse victims who return to their abuser, and Live and Learn’s financial support ensures that Paula’s hard work is not derailed by the cost of necessities.

Emotionally, like most domestic violence survivors, Paula lost her sense of self-worth and her self-esteem. For nine years, she was emotionally, financially, and physically abused; she was drugged, human trafficked, and robbed of everything she earned. Ruby, her Live and Learn Client Coordinator, helped Paula gain back the self-confidence she needed to carry on. “Ruby always answered my texts or calls, and she was always positive, she always has something nice to say about me even if I don’t believe it yet.”

“If all I do is succeed with my kids, give them a better future, that is my purpose.”

Paula was matched with a volunteer mentor as part of Live and Learn’s Mentor Program to help her begin to form strong, healthy social bonds. Survivors of domestic violence often must learn to recognize and foster positive, trusting friendships, and a strong, supportive social network lowers the risk of cycling back into an abusive relationship. Paula’s mentor is also a survivor of domestic violence and understood many of Paula’s struggles. The pair meet regularly and talk daily. “She and I connected right away. She’s helping me learn how to talk and just have a friend again.”

Just a year after fleeing her abuser, Paula has created the new life she dreamed of on that Greyhound bus. In September 2018, she completed her coursework to become a Medical Administrative Assistant. She begins her externship this fall and will graduate in December. Guided by a deep faith, Paula credits “God and Live and Learn for keeping me moving forward to a good life.”

 Plans for the Future

Paula is extremely focused on her short-term goals at this point. She will begin applying for jobs when she gets closer to finishing her externship, but she already has one promising lead with a local chiropractor’s office. Once she has achieved financial self-sufficiency, her main priority is to move into permanent housing and give her children a “nice, safe, and stable home.”

Jaymie remembers her teenage years as a difficult time. Her father passed away from cancer. She got pregnant and had her daughter. She struggled with self-confidence issues. “When I met my ex, I was just 19, but it moved fast,” she explains. “I was a young, single mother, and he showed an interest in me, and that was it.” They moved in together just months after meeting and had a child together the following year.

The relationship was emotionally and financially abusive, and it continued to grow worse as years passed. Jaymie describes her ex-husband as “always angry and always blaming me for his problems.” She was told constantly that her opinions and feelings did not matter. When she tried to talk about her unhappiness, he would frequently threaten to kill himself. This type of emotional abuse is common in abusive relationships, and it destroys the victim’s self-confidence and sense of self-worth so that she may feel that she deserves her abuse or that she cannot escape it.

Financial abuse is one of the most common forms of domestic violence; yet, it is one of the least discussed. It occurs when one partner inhibits the other’s ability to acquire, use, or maintain financial resources. As Jaymie worked two jobs at times and later worked as a licensed CNA, she put all of her earnings toward paying the family’s bills. Her ex-husband, however, used his money to take lavish vacations without her. When Jaymie tried to leave him, he took her life savings out of her bank account. With two children to care for, Jaymie had little choice but to stay with him and continue living at his parents’ house.

One day, Jaymie’s son was dangerously sick and her ex-husband refused to take him to the hospital. Jaymie realized it was time she started taking steps to divorce him. First, she enrolled at Pima Medical Institute. Her plan was to become a Respiratory Therapist so that she could earn more money, then divorce him. As she started classes, her marriage deteriorated still further. She was working as a CNA at night, taking classes during the day, and caring for her children. “He wasn’t helping me at all, and he was drinking a lot,” she remembers. “I began to really resent him, and that resentment was turning to hate.”

Jaymie left, but the abuse continued as she fought for a divorce. He told her she was ruining their family. He paid people to bully her on social media. “Some of the messages I received, I’ll never forget. They were so vulgar and cruel,” she says. The divorce is now finalized, but he continues the financial abuse by withholding child support.

“Live and Learn helped me see past my current situation and see that the future is going to be better.”

For a while after leaving, Jaymie really struggled. She lived off some tax refund money she had, and she continued to work as a CNA, care for her children, and go to school. Things finally changed when staff at Pima referred her to Live and Learn.

Live and Learn has helped Jaymie heal from the trauma of her abuse, pursue a livable-wage career, and create hope for a better future for herself and her children. During the worst part of her marriage, Jaymie suffered from crippling anxiety, but she credits Live and Learn with helping her to develop a more positive outlook. “So many times, I just wanted to give up, but I would talk to Ruby and she would fill me with positive and supportive thoughts. I would feel more calm and ready to keep working.” Live and Learn took some of the pressure off by assisting Jaymie financially, helping her with her bills at times and covering various education costs, such as the fees to take the Board Certification exams. Jaymie attended Live and Learn workshops on topics like financial literacy to learn how to manage her income to make the best decisions for herself and her children.

“The biggest thing has been learning how to take care of my kids myself, and I now see that as their mother my voice matters. My kids see what I’m doing and how hard I’m working, and they help me, they encourage me, they even do chores! My son tells me he is proud of me.”

In September 2018, Jaymie finished her classes. She took the Board Certification exams and passed on the first try. Within weeks, she had secured a good-paying position as a Registered Respiratory Therapist at Banner Baywood Medical Center. Ruby, her Live and Learn Client Coordinator, says, “Seeing Jaymie now compared to just a few months ago is like seeing a whole new woman. She is healthy and happy now!” Through her hard work and determination, Jaymie overcame incredible obstacles to create a better future for her family.

Plans for the Future

Jaymie is not done with school yet! She plans to continue her education and earn a bachelor’s degree that will allow her to advance her career. She is interested in going into healthcare management and becoming a program director.

Hours after she had her first meeting with Live and Learn staff, Jamie wrote this poem.

I Met Hope Today – by Jamie M.

It bloomed in my chest 
and poured from my eyes like a 
liquid offering.

Hope sprung up
like a seed 
watered by
Purpose.

A plan in action
A helping hand.

This new beginning signals an end
Finally, finally an end
The sleepless nights of worry are ending
And for the first time in ages
I can breathe 
I can see a future!

This new beginning is my ending
The end of the brutal cycle of homelessness
My children will be secure! They will rest easy!

The end!

The end of standing in bread lines after a long night’s work
The end of the shame that carries, that intense burden is ending!

Opportunity came
Like God does, I imagine
Like the first light in a thousand years of night
An opportunity
A chance
A mighty encouragement

From this ending, a new beginning 
A new way
A new path, and now

Now I will run!

I will run this path
Into my future
My good, good future.

Hope.

With Live and Learn’s assistance, Jamie was accepted to PIMA Medical Institute and began taking classes. She was still working full-time at the funeral home and a single-parent to her three children, but her hard work paid off. In Summer 2016, Jamie graduated as a certified medical assistant, with a job already secured. She is now earning more than she ever has in her life, getting benefits for the first time, and, most importantly, she says, “Live and Learn has helped me secure a better life for my children.”

For more than ten years, Tamara worked tirelessly as a caregiver in an Assisted Living Facility. She rose to a manager position, and she watched as employees came and went, the caregiver position just a stop for many of them on their journey to becoming nurses. One employee was a Live and Learn client and told Tamara frequently that she should look into the program. “But I just didn’t really believe that I could do it,” Tamara says.

When Tamara’s son was born, her perspective changed. She still struggled with self-doubt, but she realized the importance of being a role model for him.

I had to show him that, with hard work, you can do whatever you want. Before I knew it, I was talking with Ruby about how I could start working towards becoming a CNA [certified nursing assistant] and then an RN.– Tamara

Tamara worked incredibly hard. With Live and Learn’s financial assistance, she started classes at Pima Medical Institute in Mesa. She earned excellent grades, graduated from the CNA program, and earned CNA and LNA board certifications, all while working full-time to support her family. 

It was a hard journey. Tamara remembers well “all the nights of crying, thinking it was too much and I couldn’t do it. School and work and my son…But the support of Ruby and Live and Learn helped me manage.” For Tamara, the emotional support Ruby offered was every bit as critical as the financial support from Live and Learn. Tamara was able to text Ruby and always received encouraging responses right away. She and Ruby met regularly in-person to talk about how Tamara was doing, academically and mentally. “That helped a lot. It got me through this.”

Plans for the Future

Within months of graduation, Tamara secured a livable-wage, full-benefits position at Banner Desert Medical Center. This position also offers tuition reimbursement, which will allow Tamara to continue her education. She is currently applying to RN programs, and her goal is to one day be an RN—just as she’s dreamed of being since she was a little girl.

How did you get involved with the program? 

I grew up in Detroit, Michigan. I had taken a year of general ed at community college. But I needed a fresh start. It was a bad environment, there were a lot of troubles, and when family members screwed up, I’d have to take care of them. 

When I heard about YearUp in Phoenix, I took the chance. My advisor told me about the partnership with Live and Learn, and I didn’t hesitate. I moved away from practically everyone I know because I wanted a chance at a good career. My dream was to start a good career, and my mom could come here with me. We’d finally have a good life. 

What has your experience in the program been like so far? 

“I have struggled with feeling discouraged since my mom died. But right now, I know I just have to finish. I can’t disappoint her memory.” 

I’ve been in the program for eight months, and it is intense! But it is going well, and I really enjoy it. I’m pursuing a career in cyber-security. Especially with Live and Learn, they have been helping me a lot, more than I could have dreamed. The program sort of found me, and I am so happy it did. 

About two weeks into the program, my mom died, unexpectedly. I felt so discouraged, I just wanted to be back in Michigan with my family. But she always told me to get an education, so I’m doing it for her. She was my motivator. I was discouraged for a little bit, just because she’s not here anymore. Now I realize that doesn’t mean I can’t do this for myself. Now, more and more, I’m happy to be doing it for me. 

Would anything be different for you if you were pursuing your degree without Live and Learn’s help? 

If it weren’t for Live and Learn, I wouldn’t have lasted in the YearUp program. Live and Learn has helped me so much with basic things like bus passes and a living stipend. They give me individual attention and they help me with anything I need…that’s what’s made this possible! 

What are your hopes for the future? 

Short term, I hope that my internship will turn into a job. I do worry that I moved all the way out here on my own to do this, to change my life, so what if I don’t succeed in getting a job? But Live and Learn will help me with that once my internship ends. I want a career I really love, not just a job that barely even pays. 

Also, I am going to take some financial literacy workshops with Live and Learn. I know that’s going to be important so I know how to manage my money. 

Long term, I plan to go back to school. Actually, I think about one day owning my own business! 

Carrie sacrificed a great deal in order to study at the Southwest School of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, AZ, one of the only accredited naturopathic universities in the country. She moved from New Jersey to Phoenix, where she knew no one. Her financial situation was difficult, and she lived in a homeless shelter while taking classes at a Maricopa Community College. Soon, she met a woman who invited her to stay with her rent free for six months. At that point, Carrie received financial aid that allowed her to rent her own small apartment. “I didn’t use money for anything I didn’t absolutely need. I didn’t put the heat on in the winter or the AC on in the summer. I just paid rent and the smallest grocery bill I could manage.”

During this time, Carrie was accepted into Live and Learn. Her drive, passion, and work-ethic made her an exemplary client. Live and Learn provided needs-based Supplemental Support to Carrie, including bus passes and help with her phone bill. Carrie remembers:

“You’d think that’s insignificant, but these things can leak out all of your resources so it’s actually a huge, huge help. Even more importantly, knowing that Live & Learn could help me with these kinds of things relieved so much stress, and I was better able to focus on my studies.”

Your success is not your own success. I studied long into the nights; I worked hard. But I did not pull myself up by my bootstraps. I would never have succeeded if there weren’t people helping me every step.

Soon Carrie began classes at the Southwest School of Naturopathic Medicine. She worked hard and excelled in her first year. Then, Carrie learned that she had ovarian cancer, requiring surgery and chemotherapy, and forcing her to take a leave of absence from school.

During this difficult time, Live and Learn offered Carrie emotional and financial support. Without such support, even women as driven as Carrie can become derailed from their education. After completing her treatment, Carrie’s cancer went into remission, and she jumped right back into her studies.

In the final two years of her education, Carrie had to complete clinical rotation in order to gain practical, hands-on experience. This required her to be in locations all over the Phoenix-metro area every day. Live and Learn was able to financially assist Carrie in purchasing a used, but reliable car of her own. She explains, “I can’t imagine how I would have been able to continue without that. There’s just no way to reliably get where I needed to go without a car of my own.”

In fall 2018, as Carrie was completing her final semester of school, her financial aid ran out, having been stretched too thin when she took time off to fight her own cancer battle. After years of hard work, a financial issue was threatening to prevent her from graduating. “I called Live and Learn and spoke with Katie, who has been one of the most supportive people in my life,” Carrie recalls. Live and Learn was able to provide tuition assistance and cover the cost of Carrie’s board exams.

Carrie graduated with her Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine in December 2018. It took years of hard work and sacrifices, but she was unwavering in her determination to learn to heal and comfort people. Carrie believed that she could become a doctor, and Live and Learn believed in—and invested in—Carrie.

“You can never go wrong when you invest in people,” said a member of the Live and Learn Board of Directors. Live and Learn invests in women like Carrie, knowing that when they succeed, they give back to the community and we all succeed. In Carrie’s case, she will give back by offering healing and comfort to those in need.

Future Plans

Carrie is currently interviewing with established doctors in order to gain experience and learn from them. Longer term, she envisions opening a naturopathic hospital “where I can help people, especially people who cannot afford real healing”.

When Erika’s family first immigrated to Arizona, they shared a tiny apartment with another family. Erika spoke no English and carried a Spanish-English dictionary with her to high school every day. “High school was really tough,” she recalls. “I worked so hard to learn English, and by Junior year I took harder classes. By Senior year, I was taking all honors.” Meanwhile, her family moved into their own apartment. “I remember it was totally empty, no beds even. We got some couches from a dumpster. But somehow, in time, my mom made our empty apartment feel like a home.”

After high school, Erika enrolled in Phoenix College. She earned scholarships and took honors classes. A year and a half later, though, SB1070 passed, and Erika’s scholarships and her honors credits were taken away. “I was crushed. I had worked so hard,” Erika explains. 

Never stop dreaming. If you don’t have dreams, you don’t have anything. Don’t be afraid like I was. I stopped my life for six years. Now I found a job I love. I am passing this on to my kids.

 Still, Erika did not give up. She took part-time classes and earned a degree in Physical Therapy, with the intention of becoming a Physical Therapist for underserved and underinsured Spanish-speaking patients. Erika graduated, but she was ineligible for PT licensing because of her legal status. “I was offered a job, but then couldn’t take it because of my status. That really hurt.”

After that, Erika explains, “I put my life on hold for six years.” She married and had two children. Her husband, also an immigrant, had dropped out of ASU his junior year when SB1070 took away his scholarships. The young couple worked hard to make ends meet and create a stable environment for their children. “We were struggling so much.” 

In 2013, Erika’s oldest child started Head Start, and Erika became an active classroom volunteer. At the encouragement of a Head Start teacher, Erika looked into earning a Childhood Development Associate’s (CDA) degree, which would allow her to work in daycares.

I ask my daughter every day: ‘Are you amazing? Are you beautiful? Are you brilliant? Yes. You have everything under your feet, and you can do anything.’ Now she says this back to me! Live & Learn taught this to me, and I’m passing it on.

Through researching CDA programs, Erika learned about Live and Learn. She was accepted as a client right away. Without Live and Learn’s help, Erika would not have had the financial resources to earn her CDA, or the emotional strength to carry on. As a client, Live and Learn helped Erika through a few emergencies that almost derailed her journey, including a robbery and a health issue. “Live and Learn is not going to solve my life for me, but they are helping me make my life possible,” Erika explains. Now, Erika is a lead teacher in an infant classroom, and she loves her job. 

Erika’s father brought his family to the U.S. in hopes that his children would have a better life. Through his sacrifices and her hard work, Erika has achieved a better life for herself and her children.

Plans for the Future

Erika plans to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Child & Family Development. With Live and Learn’s help, she returned to Phoenix College in January 2018 and graduated May 2019. Erika hopes that this degree will enable her to advance her career. One day, she hopes to buy a house for her family.

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 for their sake.” She was accepted into the Year Up AZ program. Then, just as quickly, she dropped out. “I couldn’t figure it all out: transportation, money, childcare. The real problem, I realized, was him.” 

After five years, Celeste left her abuser. She and her children moved to Apache Junction, a town 40 miles outside of Phoenix and inaccessible by public transportation. Finally, Celeste felt ready to pursue a career—and a better life.

This is my comeback. I’m not stopping and starting again. No matter what.

To make this happen, Celeste joined Live & Learn. She pursued the TOTAL Career Pathway and returned to Year Up’s career training program. In order to arrive at school on time, Celeste had to wake her children at 2:30am every day. They walked or, occasionally, got a ride to the nearest bus stop in Mesa, AZ. From there, they took a two-and-a-half-hour bus ride to her children’s daycare. Celeste continued another 30 minutes on the bus to arrive at school at Gateway Community College. At 4:30pm, Celeste began the whole journey in reverse, reconnecting with her children and arriving home by 9pm.

Live & Learn supported Celeste through every difficult step of this journey. Our Mentor Program helped her cope with the stress of her current situation and heal from the trauma of her past. She received Supplemental Support, including bus passes, bill payment assistance, and gift cards to purchase required professional clothing. These are costs that would have otherwise derailed her. 

Celeste completed her career training and her internship. In fact, she performed so well at her internship with Chase Bank that they offered her a full-time job with benefits, which she will begin at the end of summer 2019.

Plans for the Future

Celeste is saving for a car of her own, which will cut her family’s commute by hours each week. As she works at Chase Bank, she plans to continue her education and earn her Associate’s Degree in Business. One day, she dreams of having a home of her own, where her children will feel loved and safe.