Malesa’s Story

My journey through nursing school has not been an easy one. My mother pushed me to start nursing school to make a better life for myself and my two children. I was excited to start and like everyone else in school I was nervous.

Everything was going well until I got a call from my stepfather who told me my mother had passed away while on vacation with my children. They were visiting my sister. After that, life became a roller-coaster.

We were kicked out of the house and became homeless for a few months. I couched surfed with friends while my children stayed at my aunt’s house. This was rough, but I knew they were safe. We then found a place with a friend. This went okay for a while. I stayed in school knowing that this was the way I could improve our life.

I hit a couple road blocks like being unable to pay for school and failing a couple classes. Then I found Helping Hands for Single Moms. It was a long shot but I filled out the application anyways. This was probably the hundredth application for a scholarship I filled out.

Then I got the call and was told I got the scholarship. Things started to turn around and I thought I can do this. I continued in school and with the encouraging words from my teachers and Helping Hands for Single Moms I survived some hard times.

Then I had to move for the third time while in nursing school. I was all packed and ready to move over the weekend. That’s when our house was broken into the first time. They took much from us including what I had left from my mom. This was scary. I had never felt so violated before, so I packed up my kids and took them to a friend’s house so they would be safe.

I got the moving van and packed what I could and took it to the new apartment. It was exciting. This place was the first place truly on our own without any roommates. I went back to the old place to finish bringing our stuff to the new place only to find out that we had been broken into again. They took my kids clothes and their toys this time. I think this hurt me the most since I knew that I could never replace these things for my kids because I work full time and go to school full time and barely make enough to pay most of my bills.

Then Helping Hands for Single Moms was there again for us. They made the difference in the decision to just give up or keep on trucking. Being encouraged once again, I continued on and as of December 6, 2017 I finally graduated from nursing school. I now have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

IN ORDER TO FACILITATE SUCCESS, HELPING HANDS FOR SINGLE MOMS PROVIDES A SUPPORTIVE PROGRAM.