“I swear this girl was not letting anything stop her,” says Christa, a case manager with Wisconsin Works. She’s talking about Anyelika, the amazing young woman we want to tell you about today. For her, FSC is more than just a great support for her family – it’s also a tool she’s using to find opportunities she’d only dreamed about before.
About seven years ago, Anyelika moved from Puerto Rico to the U.S. to start a family. Her youngest daughter needed special care, so she stayed at home with her girls. Things changed for Anyelika last December when she made the tough decision to move her daughters to Wisconsin alone. Thankfully, Wisconsin Works was one of the first resources Anyelika learned about when she arrived in the state.
She talked with Christa, her case manager, about her dream of becoming a midwife or cosmetologist. They immediately started finding a way to make those dreams come true, starting with getting established in the area. They found housing, a primary care doctor, and childcare. Her youngest daughter started in the Family Care Head Start Program, to help her get ready for kindergarten. Then, Christa went with Anyelika to Lakeshore Technical College to enroll in English literacy classes.
Once Anyelika realized just how much she could accomplish, she never looked back. Even when medical issues arose, she was still raring to go. “One time when she came in for her W-2 appointment,” says Christa, she had an IV “line in her arm and a smile on her face.” Soon, Anyelika felt ready to train for her first job in Wisconsin.
That’s when Anyelika started Office Professionals training. Now every time she met her team, she had a new skill to show them. She loved learning the different programs “and all the things she can now do on the computer that she could never do before,” says Christa.
Anyelika secured several interviews after the training and has just started her first job! She enjoys working at Goodwill NCW and says it’s a big relief to have a steady income. Plus, with a stable job, she believes that her dreams are now possible.
Way to go, Anyelika!
