In the Fall of 2017, Franchesca Grant enrolled in The Supportive Housing Program. Franchesca was twenty three years old at that time and was a single mother of two young boys (ages nine months and three years old).

Supportive Housing provides both rental assistance and case management support to Lake County adults who are receiving an income and enrolled in an accredited educational institution. Case management support includes bi-weekly home visits where each participant works on goal planning and budgeting skills with their Family Advocate, Angela Wrana. All participants also complete a series of Financial Empowerment classes offered at Lifeline to provide a better understanding of credit, credit repair and saving. This program helps individuals focus on their schooling while also learning how to budget and save, so that they can be self-sufficient once the program has ended.

Franchesca was a full time nursing student and had been previously residing in Cuyahoga County. She was interested in relocating to Lake County to provide housing for her children in a safer neighborhood as well as having access to more community resources. “Before entering this program, I had just had my second son and was struggling as a single mom with bills. I was searching for programs that help low income families continuing their education, but there were none to be found. I was drowning in my bills and stress. I desperately wanted to go to school, but knew that I needed to work a certain amount of hours just to survive,” states Franchesca. Coincidentally, Franchesca met another single mother at the park with her children who told her about The Supportive Housing Program at Lifeline.

Shortly afterwards, Franchesca applied for The Supportive Housing Program and met with Angela to complete the interview process. With Lifeline’s assistance, she was able to immediately secure a two bedroom condo. And once she was enrolled in The Supportive Housing Program, Franchesca was able to successfully balance her full time class schedule with working part time as a Medical Assistant. Franchesca was relieved to be able to focus more on her education.

“Franchesca has always been both incredibly kind and hard working,” says Angela. “She does an amazing job balancing work and school while raising her children. She will be an amazing nurse!”

Franchesca graduated from both school and The Supportive Housing Program in February of 2019. She graduated with her LPN license and plans to continue on with her education to become a nurse practitioner. When asked how she feels Supportive Housing benefited her, Franchesca states, “Without Lifeline, I would not have been able to go back to school or provide for my family. This program also helped me manage my money correctly.”