Building a Better Future: Checking In With Amaris

Amaris has come a long way since her graduation from Home of Hope. A year after graduating, she overcame challenges, discovered new passions and secured permanent housing. This didn’t happen by a twist of fate; it took her grit, determination and the nurturing environment of Home of Hope to get here.

Before  Home of Hope, Amaris moved constantly between living with family members and other temporary arrangements. She graduated from the Job Corps with a high school diploma and a trade. Despite having a job, she still struggled to maintain stable housing especially after having her daughter, Raya and moving to another county. Overwhelmed, she turned to a friend for help, who suggested Home of Hope.

“The thought of going to a shelter was just new to me because I never really thought that that’s where my life would go or where I would end up,” said Amaris. 

The following week, she enrolled in the program – changing the trajectory of her and her daughter’s lives.

“Home of Hope means a great deal to me,” said Amaris. “With all the traumatic life challenges and changes I was going through at that time, I wasn’t really able to process any of it right away because everything was happening so fast. But for me to be able to have a roof over my head and not have to worry about where I was going to lay my head down was just enough.”

Home of Hope provided Amaris and Raya with a safe haven that allowed them to take a breath and regroup.

“I didn’t have anybody who I could turn to and ask, ‘Hey, do you mind if I could just sit and catch up for nine months, almost a year?’ So the fact that they [Home of Hope] never really asked me or anyone for anything and just let me catch up and do what I needed to do was great,” she said.

Through the help of Home of Hope life skills coaches, Amaris learned valuable financial tips while paying off bills to boost her credit score. As her focus was on building a better life for her family, she looks back fondly at her time at Home of Hope. Her favorite memory is from Christmas Eve of 2022, where she was surprised with Christmas presents for her daughter.

“It was a really relieving moment of gratitude,” said Amaris. “I have to say that as a mom and going through what I went through at that time, it was hard for me to even think about getting gifts. I was in awe seeing a closet full of stuff for my daughter. I sat there in that foyer, and I cried because I was able to give my kid a Christmas.”

Completing the program was a testament to Amaris’s diligence and endurance, and her growth hasn’t stopped there.

“I really have grown a lot as a person and as a mother,” she said. I am proud that I completed the program. I told myself, ‘You don’t really have any other options right now. You have to do this. You have to make some changes,’ and that’s what I did. I’m really proud of myself for sticking through.”

She is also learning to advocate for herself and prioritize her mental health. 

“ I no longer tolerate working environments that aren’t good for my mental wellbeing. When I got hired, I was able to get benefits and  resources. That has helped me over the last year to be able to seek counseling and things like that for myself. I am also proud of that.” said Amaris.

Now Amaris is living in a home of her own, and planning to make a career change to something that brings her joy – she’s working hard to earn her paraprofessional certification and become a middle school science teacher. 

As she reflects on her life so far, Amaris wants to thank the donors who made all of this possible and for the impact Home of Hope had on her and Raya. 

“It was definitely a huge blessing to keep a smile on my daughter’s face during that time,” Amaris said. “She’ll definitely look back and be like, ‘Wow, I don’t have a bad memory during that time,’ And that’s all I can really ask for. Thank you so much to the donors. I can’t thank you enough.”