Ms. M, a single mother of children ages 6 and 7, was determined to pursue a career in nursing. But there was no shortage of obstacles in the way. Read on to learn how we helped her!
Ms. M spent several years on the waiting list to get into the Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) program at Allan Hancock College, earning other college credits at Hancock in the meantime. In 2014, her patience paid off when she was accepted to the LVN program.
But she was struggling financially, having been laid off from her job. A U.S. Army veteran with an occasional commitment to the Army Reserve, she was unable to find another job that could accommodate her school schedule and her military commitment. Worse, she wasn't eligible for financial aid (such as a Pell Grant) to help cover her school expenses, because she had already completed so many college credits. She did qualify for a BOGG fee waiver, but that wasn't enough.
Ms. M applied for CalWORKs and was referred to the Welfare-To-Work (WTW) Program, which provided assistance with child care and school-related expenses for her first semester of the LVN program. Her unemployment insurance benefits kicked in, helping with bills. Things were going well.
Unfortunately, the unemployment benefits were going to cause her CalWORKs/WTW case to be discontinued for over-income. She still had two more semesters to go, and needed assistance to cover those school-related expenses. Fortunately, her WTW Career Employment Specialist (CES) referred her to the Workforce Investment Act program (WIA, now known as the Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act or WIOA). In May 2014 Ms. M enrolled in WIA, receiving help with those expenses when her CalWORKs/WTW case was discontinued.
With her hard work and commitment, Ms. M successfully completed her LVN Program and subsequently completed the Registered Nursing (RN) Program in December 2015. In August 2016, she successfully obtained her RN License and secured full-time employment with Dignity Health as an RN with an hourly wage of $40.35/hour.
Ms. M is very excited about her new job and is very thankful for the assistance she received from both WTW and WIA programs. She is also excited to report that she is in the process of purchasing her first home. It has been a long and difficult journey, but she is very happy that she achieved her career goal and will be able to provide better life for her children.