Candice had a great life in New York. She worked for a law firm, was happily married, and enjoyed taking care of her 3 boys and 1 girl. In 2018, unfortunately, things took a bad turn when she encountered a domestic violence situation with her husband, who suffered from PTSD. Very soon after, she gathered her kids and got on a bus to Atlanta to stay with her best friend until she could determine her next step. “In order to escape, I couldn’t bring a lot of stuff with me. I had to leave a lot of my children’s things, and that was hard for me. My youngest was only 1 at the time, so I still had to carry a car seat. Each child had a bookbag to fit all they could, but we left so much there,” said Candice.
Shortly after Candice arrived; she called the domestic violence hotline for assistance, where they connected her with LiveSafe. Candice and her children were living at LiveSafe’s shelter for about 4 months when she was referred to the Center for Family Resources by her child’s school social worker.
“I was referred to case manager Alysha at the CFR, and in the beginning, we had a lot of conversations over the phone. The case manager made it clear that I needed to have a job first. I didn’t have a car and I knew that whatever apartment I found needed to be close to my job,” said Candice.
Candice found employment, started receiving child support and with the help of her case manager Alysha, she signed a lease on an apartment for her and her children. Candice continued working with her case manager and made sure to participate in the CFR’s life skills classes.
When the Covid pandemic hit, Candice and her children began doing work & school at home. Working from home was difficult and Candice had to find different employment. She worked a few different jobs during that time, but with her criminal justice degree- nothing was fulfilling her. One day, she went to North Georgia Staffing to find something new and was told about an open position at the CFR. “I could barely control my excitement when they told me that the ERA job was available. I wasn’t expecting the opportunity at all,” said Candice.
Candice is now an ERA case manager at the CFR. Candice said, “I’m still in the same apartment that Alysha helped me move into and I ended up getting my business license for my loc business. I have my first popup shop coming up soon and I’m excited!”
Candice’s kids are doing well in school. Her daughter is a cheerleader, her middle son is playing football and her oldest son does track. She couldn’t be any prouder.
With her life now on a better track, Candice wanted to leave these words of encouragement for someone who may need it: “No matter how low you get in life, when the room seems dark, as long as you keep your mind healthy and stay motivated- that darkness will soon become a dim light that will eventually get brighter and brighter. Just remember that all bad situations are temporary.”