CoralLee Looney was a victim of domestic violence. She moved to Fort Wayne from New Jersey with her ex-husband. Her parents are deceased, and she didn\u2019t have any other family members to turn to. She went to the YWCA women\u2019s shelter where she met Brightpoint family development case manager Jocelyn.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Brightpoint] was a godsend\u2026 I have five children. It\u2019s rough trying to get everything financially stable,\u201d CoralLee says.<\/p>\n
At Brightpoint, CoralLee received Emergency Solutions Grant funds, which paid for her house rent for a year. With this assistance, she was able to put all her income toward taking care of her children and paying other expenses. She was even able to save some money. So once the assistance ended, she had a good stable foundation to continue on.<\/p>\n
She was fortunate to have a temporary job that turned into permanent employment. She says her employer was so understanding of her situation and held her job for her while she transitioned from shelters to housing and getting her children situated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really have no idea where I would be if I didn\u2019t have the opportunity to do this for my kids. We\u2019ve been here (in this house) for a year now, and everything is perfect. I\u2019m so grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Besides the assistance that Brightpoint gave her, she was also impressed by all the connections that Jocelyn was able to help her with. She says she can\u2019t believe how many resources are available in this community, but doesn\u2019t know how someone would find them all without help like she got from Brightpoint.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was embarrassed to ask for help until I got hurt and didn\u2019t really have a choice, but all I keep thinking is, \u2018What if I would\u2019ve ask sooner? If I would\u2019ve just picked up the phone and called 2-1-1\u2026 everything would be different.’\u201d<\/p>\n
CoralLee regrets not asking for help sooner and encourages others to reach out if they need it, but she is still positive about her future. She wants to spend more time with her children and eventually wants to go to school to become a counselor or probation officer and help others.<\/p>\n
But for now, she is just thankful to feel like her life is finally stable. Almost 30 years old, CoralLee says, \u201cThis is the first time in my whole adult life that I\u2019m not struggling to pay my bills \u2013 living paycheck to paycheck.\u201d<\/p>\n
And she says she is quite sure she wouldn\u2019t have been able to do it if it wasn\u2019t for Brightpoint.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“Brightpoint was a godsend… I’m so grateful.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1279,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"categories":[101,88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-645","testimonials","type-testimonials","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-housing-solutions","category-programs"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n