REAL STORY
This story is real but all names are changed to protect client privacy
This is the story of Natalie, an abused mom. Natalie was a college student in Florida when she found out she was pregnant. Her school only offered support for an abortion, so she came back to her hometown of Houston. She lived in two homeless shelters during the course of her pregnancy. Then her ex-boyfriend found her and convinced her to leave.
After giving birth to a baby boy, she moved in with him. But it was not a safe or loving home. Natalie’s boyfriend began to severely abuse her, and she had a vision that he was going to kill her. Badly hurt, she managed to escape and go into hiding with a relative.
In the midst of it all, she completed her bachelor’s degree and graduated in July, 2020. She quickly realized, however, that most jobs in her field required experience, and she had none. That’s when she got an email about the Community Health Worker program offered through NAM’s Learning & Vocational Training Center. “I knew that’s what I needed so I could get a job, and that way I could sustain being a single mom,” says Natalie.
Natalie was accepted into the program at NAM in February, and also began graduate studies at Houston Baptist University for clinical mental health counseling. Her goal was to work as a community health worker to give her experience working with underserved communities.
Just as she was beginning the Community Health Worker program at NAM, however, the relative she was living with assaulted her. Natalie and her baby boy lived in a shelter for the next three months, while she completed her NAM coursework online.
Natalie is now certified as a Community Health Worker and earning straight A’s in her graduate studies. She was eager to go right into the work force, but four weeks ago her son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. As she navigates that new diagnosis, she does so with great hope for their future. “Right now, if I was looking for a job online, they’re hiring Community Health Workers, so as a single mom I have that job security” she says.
“NAM’s program provided me with what I needed, and that to me is the biggest blessing I’ve had this year.”
-Nam client Natalie
“I have hope that in the future things will look very different for me. It can’t end here. This can’t be my final point. So anytime something happens, I push through it because I think this can’t be the end. I have so many dreams for my son, and so many hopes for myself.”
NAM needs your help to continue protecting and uplifting the vulnerable like Natalie. To honor NAM's 40th anniversary and support our Family Violence Center, our #40for40 campaign is hoping to raise at least $40 from supporters like you.
Many have nowhere to turn but to NAM, and we cannot continue without your help. Please bless NAM and our neighbors in need, with your $40 contribution now. If not NAM then who?
