"On the Path of Empowerment"
A Push to Change for Herself and Her Children
"Cope has really given me the tools I need to be a good parent."
Cecilia first came to Cope when she was pregnant with twins. Having grown up in an abusive home, struggling to make ends meet, estranged from the baby’s father and without supportive family nearby, Cecilia felt unprepared for motherhood. “I knew I was going to be a single parent of twins. And that in itself was terrifying. So I was actively seeking a support system in my community and I found it here at Cope,” Cecilia said.
Cecilia enrolled in Healthy Families™, a home visiting program for at-risk expectant mothers. “It has been incredible,” she said. “From the very beginning, it helped settle a lot of my uncertainty about the situation and really set me on the path of empowerment. Cope has given me the tools I need to be a good parent.”
In addition to learning parenting skills, Cecilia worked with Carol, her Family Service Provider on improving her family’s life. When she was laid off from her job, Carol helped connect her to community resources such as the CalWorks program, CalFresh and the Food Bank. “She also got me into a program at the housing authority and that was really a life changing moment for me, knowing that my children and I weren’t going to have to worry about how to keep a roof over our heads.”
"Thank you for making this possible. You've changed my life and my children's lives."
Carol and Cecilia worked together on setting goals to give her and her babies a better future. “I tried to go to school after high school to be a nurse. And it ended swiftly in one failed semester. I didn’t have any self esteem at the time. I didn’t have any drive to do it,” Cecilia recalled. With Carol’s encouragement and renewed confidence, Cecilia enrolled in classes at Napa Valley College. “When you have someone speaking to you in a positive way, you start believing in yourself. Right now I’ve set the goal to be a nurse practitioner. I’m a 4.0 student. I really believe that it’s the tools I’ve received from Cope - being able to make my home a stable life - that has enabled me to then go out into the world and really build on that platform of stability.”
Thanks to Cope, Cecilia is breaking the cycle of abuse and poverty in her family. “Because I’ve been given the opportunity, I can change our story. To give your child more than you had as a child is everybody’s dream. And I really feel Cope has set us on a path for a more successful life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the program, the people who run this place and the donors. Thank you for making this possible. You’ve changed my life and my children’s lives.”
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This story is featured in our 2017 Impact Report. You can view the full digital report to learn more about Cope's impact and read more featured stories like Cecilia's.