Sometimes the word “home” is temporary

I grew up in a world where the word “home” was temporary and the word “family” was complicated.  From the moment I entered the foster care system at age 3 I was abused, malnourished and belittled.  From being abused I ended up pregnant at the...

What does success look like to you?

To me success looks like being happy with yourself and your life is growing. Doing things you thought you couldn’t do until you do them. Meeting your goals in life no matter how long it takes just making yourself proud of the person you are and the one you are...

My Journey with Woman’s Co-op

My Journey with Woman’s Co-op began in 2006 when I became a single mother. Co-op helped me become who I am in the world today. Through the programs I participated in, the classes I attended, and—most importantly—the nonjudgmental support I received from staff...

This is my story of how the system treated me…

This is how the system treated me, and overwhelmed single mother.  I have been being harassed with Children’s Protective Services for years.  When my ten-year-old daughter was a baby, I took a trip with her to Pennsylvania and was even visited by CPS there. That case...

The story is bigger than me…

As the concept of retiring in a few years from Woman’s Co-op approaches, people have started to talk to me about legacy. About winding things down. About what comes next for me. I understand the question—but I’ve never fully felt it in the way it’s often asked. Yes,...

When you are a child born in poverty…

(Here’s the thing when you’re born into something you can’t control you have to develop the right mindset to pull yourself out to have a better future.) I was born into a small loving family mother, father and self. I didn’t know I was poor/ low class I only knew...