My name is Nicki. I’d like to share my Hope Story with you…

My two daughters and I came to Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas in November of 2016. My husband had passed away suddenly in the summer and after his death, the girls and I were barely getting by. We were homeless, living in our car and I was spending the days at the library to stay warm while the girls were at school.

Working with our Catholic Charities case manager, we entered the Supportive Housing Program. My case manager found an apartment close to the girls’ school for our family. Soon after, our car died and we had no transportation but we had a roof over our heads and we had a plan, thanks to our case manager.

I worked with our case manager to find a job that was within walking distance of our apartment. I found temporary employment here and there but struggled to find anything permanent. Sometimes it was a strain for my family, but I paid our rent every month and maintained our utilities. My case manager kept working with me on job skills training. Finally, I found a job that I could walk to. It was full time and the hours worked well with my daughters’ schedules. To help us with budgeting, the girls and I signed up for Catholic Charities’ financial education program, Family Financial Transformations. We wanted to stay not just above water, but in the future be able to weather financial storms on our own.

In December of 2017, our case manager dropped by our apartment to see how things were going. I shared that I would be signing another year’s lease the next day, that we had a savings account (yep, we’re saving up for a used car – family goals); and, that I love my full time job! She was so happy for us. We hugged and I thanked her for working with me through our family’s difficult times and giving me confidence in my job search and hope in my family’s future.