A Success Story: Esperanza

SUSO along with the help of our Community Based Organizations have many success stories as a result of the program. Getting kids to school is just one part of the equation.

Read Esperanza’s true story about the guidance she received through Show Up, Stand Out :

Esperanza Martinez* is a single mom with two children, Diego*, a 5th grader and Isabella* a 1st grader. Their lives were in transition and the children were not attending school regularly. We had a SUSO team member meet with the family two times a month at their home to teach both the mother and children life skills and to help the children to get to school daily.

Struggles:

• Undocumented Hispanic
• Homeless
• Job for less than 40 hours a week and 1 hour commute
• Domestic violence resulting in a dissolved relationship with the father
• Power struggle with Diego to get to school, said he hates school
• Paying rent
• Mother and father keep children out of school to spend time with them.

Diego’s school set up a meeting with a SUSU community based organization called Georgia Ave Family Support Collaborative to meet with Esperanza to learn how they could help with her struggles.

How SUSO provided help:

• Matched with a support worker who was a woman
• Assisted in ways to prioritize education for the children
• Introduced Esperanza to a parent group that became a part of her support system
• Located a job for Esperanza that complemented her skills
• Got medical attention for Isabella and fitted into a pair of eyeglasses

Results and closure:

• Diego started going to school, was matched with the soccer coach as a mentor, joined the soccer team, and got great grades.
• Isabella’s medical issues are under control.
• Esperanza was left with a solid “family unit” to live with, a job closer to home, the skills to network, and a support system.

Through home visits, coaching, and working with the community, the SUSO program was a success for Esperanza and her children.

*Names changed to protect identity