Success Stories

All the Way Home

Seven years ago Jessica Johnson would have never imagined her life as it is now.  At that time she was involved in a relationship that had started out wonderful, but had sadly turned into her worst nightmare.  After some time into the relationship her partner became verbally abusive, and then slowly began to threaten and eventually became physically abusive.  At that point she had quit her job and college on his recommendation to have the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom and spend more time with her daughter. But by doing so, it only caused her to become more dependent on him and isolated from the world.  The physical violence progressed to such a severe point that one day she woke up and could think of nothing else but to get her and her daughter out of that situation.  She moved into an emergency shelter for women and children of domestic violence and from that point on their lives started to get better.  After that, she left the shelter to move into a CHW rental community called CENTRO, located in Vista, for homeless families.  For the first time she and her daughter had a place that they could call their own that felt comfortable and safe.  Jessica was going to nursing school and working part time while living at CENTRO.  She also took advantage of CHW’s Financial Fitness education classes that taught her how to budget, manage her debt, fix her credit and give her financial freedom. She opened a college savings account for her daughter and committed to saving every month.  Jessica also opened an individual development account, completed CHW’s HUD certified homebuyer class and later met with a CHW loan officer for a loan prequalification.  After two years of saving and working hard to fix her credit, Jessica was finally ready to purchase a home.  She again met with a CHW loan officer, who diligently helped her every step of the way.  Jessica was approved for the loan and was able to begin making offers on homes that were actually affordable for her. She finally found the right home for her family, which brings us to today.  Jessica and her daughter moved into a home in Carlsbad.  Her daughter has her own room, they love their neighbors, and truly believe it is the home of their dreams.  Jessica is now a licensed vocational nurse in a Community Mental Health Clinic which she says “has been a huge reward to be able to impact the lives of others in need by caring for them on a daily basis.”  She is also currently furthering her education to become a registered nurse.