When “Justine” first met with her Family Self Sufficiency coach, she didn’t think she would have time for the program. She had recently left a bad relationship and was left with terrible debt. “She had a lot of goals, but she was feeling overwhelmed,” her coach observed. Her debt was piling up, and she was out of work with no steady income to pay it down. Her other household members weren’t reliably contributing to rent. She relied heavily on credit cards to get by. “She believed FSS was just one more thing that she would have to pile onto everything else.”
Justine’s transformation began when she learned how the FSS program can help her manage her debt without losing track of her goals. Together, Justine and her FSS coach formed a plan. She agreed to stop using credit cards and create a household budget. Her household members agreed to consistently contribute to the rent. She set a goal to obtain part time work while attending school. And most importantly, she selected a brand-new career path to plan for long-term financial stability. “She came to the realization that she wasn’t her debt. It really helped her to realize that this wasn’t hopeless.”
“We talked about how she grew up on a farm and around horses. She wanted that life for her kids, and when she wasn’t able to give them that, she felt like she was failing them.” But now, with the support of the FSS program, Justine has a plan to pay off her debt, and her education is on the right path. She is on track to graduate from the program in 2029 with an escrow, a career, and a home of her own. “Her goal of homeownership gives her something to strive for,” says her coach. “She doesn’t realize how much that’s going to keep on giving. That’s something she’s going to be able to pass down to her kids.”