Veronica's Story
Veronica proudly opens the door of her new apartment and invites her First Foundation Youth Advocate to see all that she has accomplished. Now a My First Place participant, Veronica started utilizing First Place’s services a year-and-a-half ago when she entered the First Foundation Program. At the time she had been living in a group home and needed support with school and preparing for aging out of the foster care system. “I was pregnant and needed help finding a job, getting into school, and getting my life together,” says Veronica.
This was Veronica’s seventh placement in her five years in foster care. “Moving all the time made it hard for me to be in school. I was really unstable.” As a result, Veronica eventually dropped out of school in ninth grade. Yet as Veronica looked to get stabilized she knew that getting her education was an important part of that. She set her mind to reaching this goal and worked diligently to obtain her G.E.D. As a result, she obtained her G.E.D. with excellent scores, including scoring in the 99th percentile in science, the subject she was most nervous about. Being out of the classroom for so long did not stop Veronica, as she quickly enrolled at Laney College for her first semester of college. When she met with her youth advocate she would be excited to share about her latest paper and brainstorm about interesting topics for future assignments. Veronica definitely felt the challenges of college, but she knew that between her support systems and her desire to get her education, she would thrive in college. And she has. She just completed her second semester and is on her way to getting her certificate in Early Childhood Education. She aspires to be a social worker one day and help youth like her.
As Veronica neared aging out of the foster care system, she knew that to make it on her own she would need a job. She got a part-time job at a local food chain and was quickly recognized for her hard work and received a wage increase. But once she had her daughter, Veronica knew that she needed a higher paying job with better hours. She did just that, obtaining employment with an office supply store. Yet Veronica understands that to make it in the Bay Area as a young mom you need to have a living wage. So she sought out a higher paying job and now works in a check cashing center.
Veronica worked hard to prepare herself for her transition to independent living. She got her education and held down steady employment all while being a new mom. The Alameda County Independent Living Skills Program recognized her accomplishments, and she received the top honor for graduating students receiving a $4,000 award. Always thinking ahead, she used some of this money to pre-pay her rent for the apartment she secured through the My First Place program. “My First Place has helped me a lot because rent is so high in the Bay Area and there aren’t enough programs to help with housing. Without First Place I would probably be homeless and would not be in college,” says Veronica.
The support and stabilization that was provided to her through participating in First Foundation has helped her to be so successful in My First Place. She continues to attend Laney, hold down a job, and fulfill the responsibilities of living on her own.