Rhianna’s Story

“You need someone to continually motivate you and SCCC helped me to have a voice.”

Rhianna is a single mother of three children, one of whom is disabled. After being married for ten years, and shortly after learning of their son’s diagnoses, Rhianna’s husband abandoned the family. She did her best to provide for her children and build a life for them on her own. They moved into a low-income apartment and between working as a Door Dash driver and child support payments she was able to just make ends meet while also working toward a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice—until the payments suddenly stopped with no warning and COVID made it nearly impossible to work or attend school while also watching her children full-time. In June of 2020, the family was unfairly evicted from their home and spent the next 5 months living in a tent on the street.

She tried to save up money doing Door Dash so she could get back into a home before winter, but even after she had enough money for a deposit, Rhianna quickly learned that no place would approve her for an apartment when she had a recent eviction on her record. Desperate to get the care she needed for her youngest child—who suffers from muscular dystrophy—Rhianna reached out to Imagine Colorado. They were able to set her up in a hotel temporarily and referred her to Sister Carmen Community Center.

SCCC’s full-time Advocate, Hugo, worked closely with Rhianna on her case to get her approved for the Housing Stabilization Program (HSP), which got her into an apartment and covered her deposit and 3 month’s rent to start. She was even given a voucher to the Sister Carmen Thrift Store with so she could get household items for the children.

SCCC then referred Rhianna to a program to become a Certified Nursing Assistance (CNA) and get paid to be her son’s own caregiver. Rhianna told us that before coming to SCCC she wouldn’t have been ready to take on something like the CNA program, but felt that because the opportunity was made available and someone gave her the encouraging push she needed that she felt more sure of herself.

Now, Rhianna feels like her family can finally be truly self-sufficient. Her son has the care he needs, and the ability to work from home and have steady income has allowed her to continue school again and she looks forward to earning her degree. She speaks to SCCC staff weekly. “They check-in and ask how things are going. They work with me to get any information I need. My Advocate pushes me to the right places. Brittany—the Advocate Manager—is the magic wand voice of all voices. She reaches out for classes that I might be interested in or says ‘here’s a job opportunity’ and encourages me to stay connected…I feel like I can reach out to them no matter what’s going on.”