Ruby and her daughter are thriving at last!  She is now the head chef at a restaurant.

“I know for a fact, if I didn’t have that help through Upward Transitions, I wouldn’t have been able to do this. I was stuck. I didn’t know how it all works, but she [UT case manager] directed me what to do! I feel it’s all up from here. I’m excited!”

Eight months ago, Ruby left everything at her home and fled a domestic violence situation. She didn’t know what she was going to do when she arrived in Oklahoma City.  She stayed at a hotel for a couple of weeks and with her funds running low, she learned about a program at the YWCA.  

“You’re in survival mode and not always sure of what you’re going to do. It was nice to talk with other women who were in the same place I was, and they told me about Upward Transitions and how they worked with the Y, Palomar, and  Homeless Alliance,” Ruby explained.

The YWCA referred Ruby to Upward Transitions to obtain birth certificates for herself and her young daughter. The first person she was introduced to at Upward Transitions was a UT case manager who worked with her to determine her needs toward stabilizing her household. Once she had her identification documents, she became gainfully employed but she still needed help with gas for her car and the job’s required uniform. 

Ruby said, “Anytime I would need something, I would call [the Upward Transitions case manager] and ask and even if she couldn’t help me with it, she always referred me to someone who could help me. It was positive support, you know, like ‘it’s going to be okay’ and support for my daughter too.”

The Upward Transitions case manager provided Ruby with gas cards to support her transportation to the new job and purchased the required uniform and shoes Ruby would need to work there. 

Over time, she continued to look for opportunities to better her situation, and the Upward Transitions case manager continued to support her journey toward a self-sustaining future with the community resources to meet her childcare, self-care, and housing needs.

“You guys really don’t know how important you all are to our survival. You come in and you just think you’re only one smile, just one resource, but that changed the whole course of my life. You actually save lives – you’re not just a resource.”