Education Success Stories

Barbara
Barbara is originally from the Dominican Republic. She fell in love while attending college in Santo Domingo, with the father of her first child. They moved in together and were very happy. Everything began to change two years ago when a professor from Baltimore, MD came to DR and fell in love with her. He encouraged Barbara's family to convince her to marry him. Barbara did not want to marry, but she eventually gave in to her family's request and married the man. She did this thinking of the many opportunities that would come to her by becoming an American citizen.

Barbara states that he brought her to Maryland and she became very depressed. She returned to DR for several months prior to returning to live with this man. One day, she felt that she could no longer live with him and decided to leave. She did not tell him where she was going, and she went to stay with a friend. She eventually made her way down to DC and found herself a room to rent on her own. She got a job, enrolled herself in English classes, and was finally happy.

A couple of months later, she met the father of her second child. He encouraged her to move in with him, got her pregnant, and then was diagnosed with kidney failure. He also became very jealous of her, which ended their relationship. Barbara then moved in with a friend who later revealed she was leaving the country. Pregnant, without income or support, Barbara was asked to leave the apartment. This is when she was referred to HOGARES.

Barbara immediately began working cleaning office buildings, and taking Child Development Accreditation (CDA) classes with the hope of starting her own child care center one day. She filed for her license to start a small child care center for up to 5 children, but had to put this dream aside in order to transition out of the HOGARES. Not only did Barbara find permanent affordable housing for her child and herself, but she began working at one of the best child care centers in the city. Barbara continues hoping to finish school one day in order to provide a good life for both of her children.