Leigh

At the start of the program, Leigh is in the process of applying for SSDI, having already been denied once. She has been unemployed since 2017 and has significant health challenges, both physical and mental, that make it difficult for her to work. Thankfully, she is able to live with her parents but even so experiences financial difficulties and can’t always afford to pay for personal care items. She tells us her hopes for her future are to have less stress, move out on her own, and to have some sort of income but isn’t optimistic things will change. 

When she learns she will be receiving $1,000, “I was bawling my eyes out in the middle of a Walgreens parking lot.”  Leigh feels the money changed her life. During the three years, she completed a certificate in medical billing and coding and will soon start a new job at a prestigious hospital, and she bought a vehicle. She continues to live with her parents, to provide care for her mother who has MS. Living there helped her to save up $2,000 by putting $100 of the money aside each month. Leigh was also able to quit smoking and feels she is in a better place physically and mentally.