Avis Jenkins lost her job when the store where she worked closed. Soon after, unable to pay her rent, she knew her family faced homelessness.
A friend told her about The Center for Family Resources (formerly Cobb Family Resources) and Avis went in search of help.
The Center for Family Resources, a United Way grantee, helped Avis pay her rent, but the assistance was broader than that. For example, staff members assisted Avis with her résumé, and she met with a life skills coach about budgeting and financial management.
Avis wanted to find higher-paying work so she could get off food stamps. Through the center, Avis found a personnel agency willing to send her on temporary assignments. Her first position was a great fit, and a few months later Avis was full-time. The Center for Family Resources continued to support Avis and her two daughters for several years, providing counseling, advice, toys at Christmas time—the consistent, stabilizing support she needed.
Now, Avis has worked at Healthfield in pediatric medical records for more than six years, and has been promoted twice.
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Through meeting Avis' basic needs, and helping her to change her life, United Way and The Center for Family Resources made an investment in Avis, adding one more productive citizen back into the community equation. Now Avis volunteers with The Center for Family Resources, sharing her story.
Avis has been off public assistance for five years.
Her oldest daughter attends Georgia State University,
and her youngest just graduated from high school.
Avis is proud of them both, and of herself for getting
control of her life.
"What if they hadn't had the funds when I needed help?" Avis said, knowing that would have made her story very different now.
Meeting basic needs and promoting self-sufficiency are just two of the ways United Way makes our community safer and stronger.
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