My name is Brisa, and I am a single mom to a 5-year-old daughter. I am a current Participant at Project Self-Sufficiency, and I am pursuing a bachelor’s degree in accounting, and I plan to become a Certified Public Accountant.

Before I found Project Self-Sufficiency, my life resembled a train wreck. My childhood consisted of instability, a broken family, and I got married at a young age.

My marriage became abusive, and I was stuck. I knew I wanted a better life and I had potential to do great things.

With the help of some family members, and the strength from within, I left my abusive marriage.

After I left my ex-husband, I had no idea how I was going to afford to live.

I looked into Project Self-Sufficiency and was very excited to be accepted into the program.

Wrap-Around Support At Project Self-Sufficiency

I have now been a participant for over three years and I have worked really hard to overcome many different challenges. Though the focus of the program is education and career services, the wrap-around support from Project Self-Sufficiency has been vital to my success.

Every Participant is paired with an Advisor and I have the absolute best Advisor anyone could ever ask for. My Advisor has seen the challenges I have been faced with as a single parent, and she always has helpful suggestions and resources to help guide me through my struggles.

My advisor has helped me to find affordable housing, helped me get emotional help while I was healing from previous abuse, and continuously helps me with childcare scholarships. She has also guided me through career exploration.

My advisor is an expert at what she does, and I extremely thankful for having a trusted resource who has never steered me wrong in my journey.

Another method of support that I am thankful for with Project Self-Sufficiency is the holiday services. Each year, my daughter and I receive food baskets for major holidays. We are also able to receive Christmas gifts from a family through the Holiday Family Sponsorship program.

I am so thankful for those who want to help us and it amazes me that someone out there wants us to have a nice Christmas.

Graduation and Next Steps

I have over 2 years left before I graduate from CSU, and after I graduate, I plan on passing the CPA exam and staying with my current employer. I am very fortunate to be working for a good company who fully supports my education. I’m excited for what my future looks like!

Without Project Self-Sufficiency, I have no idea where I’d be at today. I’d probably still be living in someone’s basement and struggling to make ends meet.

I am a pretty resourceful person, so I probably wouldn’t be doing too bad in life, but I’m sure that I would not be utilizing the full potential that I have within myself. I don’t know if I would have had the courage to take the big step to go to school. It’s a different world when you’re raising a child by yourself, and you’re the only means of their support in your home.

If I could say anything to the donors and volunteers of Project Self-Sufficiency, it is the biggest and warmest and most sincere, THANK YOU.

Being able to say this to people who may have helped me in the past just warms my heart and it really brings me joy. All the people and businesses who support this program are truly making a difference for single parents who need the help.