Being a single mom held its fair share of challenges. But if you add poverty to the mix, you have a recipe for low self-esteem. Government programs kept me afloat. I received welfare and the children were enrolled in Head Start. These programs were lifelines.

I’ve been a bartender for about 9 years and since 2007 I’ve been working in hotels. In hotels you do get sick pay, unlike every other place I’ve worked, but it is only minimum wage and management is taught to discourage you from calling in sick.

Originally from Haiti, I am a mother of a teenaged son, and I support a number of family members back home in Haiti. When working for a year and half at the Capital Grille in Miami as a dishwasher, I was doing the job of two or more people. I usually worked for four hours or more, but the chef would clock me out earlier than I finished.

The Community Services Block Grant enables the Capital Area Community Action Agency to give people the opportunity to learn the skills they need to obtain and maintain employment.

Head Start and education assistance helped Patricia and her children pursue post-secondary education.