Sarah's Story
A few years ago, “Sarah”* found herself separated from her husband who left her deeply in debt. Her father, who had been helping out, passed away, leaving Sarah and her children with no family support system. She went back to school and got her paralegal degree and a job, but she was still not making enough money to make ends meet.

Eventually, her car was repossessed. Living in the suburbs, she needed a vehicle to get her kids to doctors’ appointments, to get to the grocery store, to get to work, and to take her son to a number of special-needs assessment appointments. When she lost her car, she had no idea what she was going to do.

Sarah was able to purchase a vehicle through PRISM, one of the collaborating agencies in Family Car Initiative. She purchased a used vehicle at an affordable price with no interest. But a car was not the only thing Sarah received. She says she got great financial counseling to take the steps she needed to become financially independent, a class on how to care for her car, even a home-ownership class. “I was clueless. It wasn’t anything I had to know before.” She was particularly grateful for the good instructors for “not talking over your head, belittling you for not knowing.”

“I was feeling pretty defeated… Things are going well now. I was able to complete the assessment for my son’s special needs and I got him into some good helping programs. Just being able to get to work, to get the groceries, feed my kids—It’s huge. I became hopeful again. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.”