Life Skills Reimagined helps former foster care youth better provide for her young family
Mimi came to RFL at 17 years old. Now 24 and a new mom, Mimi is participating in our Life Skills Reimagined course to improve her budgeting, saving, and credit skills in order to better provide for her young family. Read Mimi's story:
"I’m participating in Ready For Life’s Life Skills Reimagined Program because there are a lot of areas in my life that I can improve. There are also areas where I can learn some new things such as budgeting, housing, and building credit which I am working on right now. There are a lot of areas that foster care didn’t teach us so I’m looking to learn and grow so I can have a bright future for my daughter and myself.
I decided to give it a try because knowledge is power and I’m a person that loves to learn. I like to step outside the box to be different, to meet new people, and to accomplish new things. I’m a naturally curious person who loves to explore all of my open options.
My goal in the program is to come out smarter and stronger, more aware of all the things I didn’t know. I want to be a better version of myself today than I was yesterday, and an even better version tomorrow. I want to build my credit up so that I can have my own home through Habitat for Humanity. I’d rather pay my own mortgage than have to pay rent.
I have already learned the three major credit bureaus. They are Transunion, Equifax, and Experian. I’ve also learned how to budget shop for my groceries. We are a family of 3 and I try to make my grocery money go as far as I can get it to go. The only thing I can’t budget is my babies formula so I learned to budget around it and prepare foods that are not only nutritious but will last a while and that are fun to cook.
I heard about Ready for Life from my crossover Juvenile Diversion Lawyer. She said that I could benefit from so much there like bus passes, counseling services, and that Ready for Life offered so many different programs and classes for youth my age. I was 17 years old at the time.
Before I met RFL I had a hard time with life, really. I couldn’t manage time. I wasn’t sure how to budget. I had a job but was in a spending phase. I spent most of my money on name brand clothing items. I had a hard time with my anger. I was mad at the world because I was in foster care and my parents didn’t fight for me. I stopped speaking, and I stopped eating. I got arrested, did stupid stuff, and I needed help expressing my emotions. I became really suicidal.
I am excited to have a career when I graduate from my phlebotomy class. I’m also excited to watch my daughter grow up and not have to struggle. I’m excited to see her growing up in a two parent home. I’m super excited to see what her future holds. I’ll never lose her and I’ll always fight for her.
My next step is to plan my future. I have opportunities to work in hospitals and nursing homes right now. I haven’t taken the step to decide where to go next because I’m still in the process of researching companies. I want to be somewhere I love, where I can grow and learn and there’s room for continuing education and growth both personally, spiritually, financially, and professionally.
I’m looking forward to being the best mom that I can be and being better than my parents. I want to give my daughter everything from her first car to college funding. I have a Roth IRA. It builds 5% percent interest and I can pick and choose stocks. This is for my daughters life and I have it set up so that she can’t touch it until she’s 29. When she’s 5 I’m going to set up another one that she can’t touch until she’s 18 or 21. I haven’t decided yet.
I’m thankful for all my resources. Now I am in the position in life where I can also give back. It feels good to be able to give back. I have a bunch of friends that are homeless. I give them a place to sleep sometimes. I give them a place to shower. I will cook for them. I will also give them clothing and hygiene items if they need.
Lastly I’d like to share that no matter what kind of person you are in this world, or whatever you have done, there is always hope and room to change. I’m aware that life could have turned out very differently. In foster care I was voted most likely to be dead or in jail by 17. But by the time I aged out I was the recipient of an award for Most Improved Youth."
Youth have even more success in courses like Life Skills Reimagined when they have a mentor by their side. Learn more about our Be the One mentor program and register here.
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