Jesua, mom to five-year-old Riley, is such an amazing woman who has overcome seemingly insurmountable hardships, but the pain of those hardships continues to follow her every time her credit is checked by a prospective landlord. A year and a half ago, Riley’s father destroyed their apartment during an emotional crisis that was exacerbated by his drug use. That same weekend, he took his own life. Before coming to Raphael House, Jesua and Riley hadn’t been able to begin processing what had happened. They were too caught up in the simple act of surviving after that trauma. Now that they are in a space where they are surrounded by compassionate care and support, Jesua has started to peel back the protective layers she had grown around herself, allowing herself to be vulnerable, and truly start to heal. Jesua is working with one of Raphael House’s onsite mental health counselors, who she says has been instrumental in her ability to start healing. Our children’s program coordinator was able to connect Riley to a therapeutic program that specializes in supporting young children who have experienced severe trauma. The amazing thing about Jesua is that she was able to do so much for herself and Riley independently before even coming to Raphael House—including completing a workforce development and training program in tourism. She has since worked in project management and been promoted to a supervisory position while staying at Raphael House. With the additional supports now in place, Jesua is working hard to transition from surviving to thriving. However, healing cannot happen overnight—Jesua and Riley need time. The process of rebuilding credit is painstakingly slow and it has been especially difficult to find a landlord who is willing to consider that Jesua is much more than her credit score—a direct result of the damages made to her apartment by Riley’s father and the back rent she owes since fleeing the apartment in a state of shock. Her world stopped when Riley’s dad passed away, but she is now moving forward with her life and striving to overcome her hardships—I know she’ll get through this. Her strength and perseverance are beyond inspiring and as her case manager, I am truly humbled to be a part of Jesua and Riley’s journey. —Elisa Feria, Lead Residential Case Manager