One morning while walking to work for the U.S. Census, Rosa was hit by a car and badly injured. Rosa recalls this moment as a cataclysmic event that instantly sent her spiraling. As Rosa describes it, “The feeling was overwhelming. I felt like I was in the prime of my life. Then, all of a sudden, my plans were stripped away from me, and I was on a completely different path.”
Her recovery process left her unable to find employment that would accommodate her schedule--which included physical therapy and medical appointments 4 times per week. Unemployed, she found herself facing eviction and on very shaky ground.
When Rosa came to LIFT, she had spent months seeking assistance from government and community agencies. “I found there to be a lot of misinformation out there and I was literally a case number,” Rosa shared.
Yet, she recalls her LIFT experience as being totally different. She was a person with a name, not a number. And the meetings with the LIFT team were collaborative. “I even gave LIFT some new community resources that I had found through my own research,” she said. LIFT staff admired Rosa’s determination and remarkable perseverance; she refused to let her and her daughter fall into the economic abyss.
And her efforts paid off. Through her work with LIFT, Rosa was able to stabilize her housing situation and find a job. In fact, Rosa left such an impression on the team that she was recruited to join LIFT’s Bronx office.
Today, Rosa leads LIFT’s work with other veterans who find themselves on shaky ground like she once did. On working at LIFT, Rosa says, “It’s been a great experience so far. There’s a lot of work to do and a lot of great work happening.”
Rosa’s future is bright and full of goals. “The next stop for me is homeownership. And I haven’t given up on my dream of becoming a NYPD officer so I’d like to go back to school to study criminal justice.”
When asked what inspires her, Rosa replied, “Everything inspires me. My daughter…even the rough times. I believe anything is possible and that I can change the situation I’m in.”
