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Jessica’s story: From financial struggle to family self-sufficiency

From struggles to success, Jessica's story is a testament to the Family-Self Sufficiency program.
Blog post

We are proud to offer services and programming to people across the housing continuum, and we’re proud to support families in creating a brighter future. One critical program aims to economically empower people to be financially independent. This federally funded program is called Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS).

Open to all our rental assistance clients, enrollment in FSS is free and offers numerous benefits such as a dedicated FSS case manager, financial education classes, employment support, referrals to partners who provide job training services, personal growth counseling, individual saving accounts for education, small business and home ownership, and a HUD-funded savings account.

Numerous participants have graduated from FSS over the years and in some cases, escrow funds paid to graduates enabled them to purchase their own homes, open businesses, or launch new careers. One past participant, Jessica, a single mom with an eleven-year-old son (pictured above at Disneyland) joined FSS in 2017 while she was a nursing assistant and struggling to support her family on her salary.

“When I transferred over from Texas, I was on a Housing Choice Voucher, and when I moved here, I was introduced to FSS,” shared Jessica. “I had no idea about this program beforehand.”

She dreamt of becoming a nurse one day and owning a home of her own, but between full-time employment and parenting, life was difficult. One day, Jessica made a challenging and important decision, she chose to invest in her future and make some short-term sacrifices. Jessica left her job and enrolled in an intensive 18-month nursing program.

When asked where her life might have gone if it were not for FSS, she responded saying that “I’m a single parent, [and] I left a marriage with domestic violence. Had it not been for this program and my parents’ support, I think my journey would’ve been different. Things would be different!”

She persevered, though her budget throughout her studies was tight, and classes were long and hard, but in May 2023 Jessica successfully completed her nursing program. Later that summer she passed her N-KLEX exams and became a registered nurse. She is now working full-time, and her new income means she no longer needs any type of assistance. But challenges remain, today Jessica is on the nurses’ strike. While she had a good income and was able to save, she does not know what her career will be like in the future.

In August 2023 Jessica graduated from FSS and began working with local agencies to prepare for home ownership. A year and half later, we asked what life feels like after having graduated the program. “It feels great, it feels amazing that you’re able to provide for your family without having to depend on somebody. I would definitely recommend it to others.”

She continued on saying that her goal has always been to be self-sufficient, “Now I am. Not going to lie, it’s a little scary once I left the program. I was always able to rely on that support, but my goal was always to be self-sufficient." And the program was not as burdensome as some may think.

“FSS was not difficult at all. There are requirements you have to meet, like look for a job, or be in school. Peter [her case manager] made the process easy. He was always available for any questions, guidance. He was great. Peter was one of those who genuinely wanted the best for his clients. You got to work the program too though. You can’t just expect that handout; you got to do your part too,” she shared.

Jessica she said she encourages anybody out there who can, to join the program, and wanted to add this final piece of advice, “To anyone who’s reading this: don’t give up! When you focus on your end goal, there is more that is in you, than what’s against you.”