Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. – When Cynthia moved into the affordable housing community of Villaggio on Route 66, she was a single mother expecting twins. She knew the two-bedroom apartment wouldn't be enough for long.
For several years, her growing family squeezed into the small space before she made the difficult decision to move them into a larger, more expensive apartment at Villaggio.
“It was a sacrifice that I knew I had to make,” she said. “We’re able to separate as a family and be more united, rather than going crazy in a two-bedroom home.”
The larger apartment gave Cynthia's family room to grow, but it also stretched an already tight budget. Living paycheck to paycheck, she became a self-taught expert in managing expenses. Saving money, however, felt out of reach until she connected with Hope through Housing's Pathways to Economic Empowerment Program.
At the start of the pandemic, Cynthia lost her administrative assistant position at Cal State San Bernardino.
“That was really hard,” she said. “I had a full-time offer to transition July 1, and my offer got rescinded, so it felt like my dreams got shattered.”
Part of Cynthia's dream is to earn a Master of Public Administration degree and become a leader in the nonprofit field. The pandemic moved her classes online, taking away the collaborative learning environment she valued. At the same time, she lost her federal work-study job. Still, she refused to give up.
“There’s one thing that I was always told: nobody can ever take your education from you,” she said. “They can rip everything else away but your knowledge. And that knowledge is power – for yourself.”
With no work for six months, Cynthia relied on credit cards to cover everyday expenses. As she worked to regain her footing, she connected with Hope through Housing Economic Mobility Specialist Heidi Reyes, who started helping Cynthia improve her finances and credit.
Cynthia joined the Money Match program, through which Hope through Housing encourages residents to save by offering to match the money they save.
Cynthia soon got a new job at a third-party logistics company and arranged for half of each paycheck to be deposited directly into savings.
"I guess we don't think about saving because we live paycheck to paycheck, most people that are on this program," Cynthia said. "It forces you to save. And if someone like me can do it, a single parent of three with one income, it can be done."
Even after graduating from Money Match, Cynthia has kept her paycheck split, continuing to build her savings. When neighbors tell Cynthia they haven't seen her lately, she takes it as a good sign. She's working from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. each weekday and spending Tuesday evenings in graduate classes.
Her master's program remained remote, but after receiving a Building Bright Futures scholarship from Hope through Housing, she was able to purchase a computer and school supplies to help her succeed online.
She looks forward to adding her master's degree to the hallway wall where her other diplomas already hang, creating a daily reminder for her children that education matters.
Cynthia continues saving, pursuing her master's degree and building the future she has always envisioned for her family.
“This program really gives me hope that I can do it and give my kids the home that they deserve,” Cynthia said.
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About Hope through Housing
Hope through Housing believes that affordable housing can be a platform for transformational change at the individual and neighborhood level. For more than 20 years, the Hope through Housing Foundation has provided more than 2 million hours of transformational social services helping children and teens achieve success, improving families’ financial well-being, and promoting seniors’ health and wellness. For more information on Hope through Housing, please visit www.hthf.org.