Melinda's Story

Melinda is 38 years old, a mother of three, and going through a divorce process after a long relationship, which included domestic violence. Her children include a 20-year-old with mental disability, a 15-year-old in middle school, and a 2-year-old with some physical disabilities. She currently works part-time cleaning houses.

Melinda came to MAM after her car broke down, a situation that caused that her to miss one week of work. Her missed wages and added expenses caused her to become behind on rent. She was referred to financial coaching by her case manager to help her learn to build a budget and better manage her money.

While working on financial goals, she expressed that she wanted to buy a house, save money for her family, pay debts, and buy a new car. She did not have a checking or savings account. With the help of her financial coach, she started prioritizing goals, opened a bank account and started working on her budget. She attended a Financial Planning and Budgeting class to get started, and the Family Assistance program was able to provide rent assistance for the month. Melinda was then referred to other programs at MAM. She is now seeing our mental health counselor, and is staying active in her financial coaching sessions where she is experiencing success in balancing her budget.