Kiara C.

Congratulations to Kiara for securing an apartment for her and her three-year-old child, while also completing her first semester at Cal State Long Beach!  

Kiara and her son during her graduation from community college last fall

Last fall, RTB welcomed Kiara into our first-ever California scholarship cohort, and we have supported her in her transfer to California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), where she continues to study social work with plans to pursue a master's degree in the same field. As a member of our scholarship cohort, Kiara has spent the spring 2023 semester participating in monthly one-on-one “mobility mentoring” sessions with Brenda, an RTB Alumni Scholar and our CA-based Whole-Family Program Coordinator.

During these sessions, Kiara set a unique goal to achieve stable housing, and took concrete steps to make her goal a reality. She also utilized our CA- and MN-wide emergency grant program to furnish her new home after her original furniture was damaged in a flood. During this process, WFPC (Whole-Family Program Coordinator) Brenda provided her with resources to obtain childcare for her son and to help her obtain more financial aid at school. As of now, Kiara has successfully completed her first semester at Cal State Long Beach and has achieved a new goal of establishing a savings account with enough funds to cover a month's worth of rent.  We are so proud of Kiara for achieving her goals, and we have been pleased be her partner on her academic journey.