When Dominique arrived in Midland with her eight-year-old son, she was starting over. She was new to the community, separated from family, living in a shelter, without transportation, and trying to navigate an unfamiliar network of resources. One of her most immediate problems was simple: she needed bus tickets.

The shelter gave Dominique a list of organizations that might be able to help. One day, while visiting Michigan Works, she noticed a name from the bottom of that list on the building next door: MCFOAR. She walked in expecting to ask for transportation and instead, Gerry asked another question:

What else can we help you with?

For Dominique, that question changed everything. That first visit became about far more than bus tickets. MCFOAR helped with her résumé and job search, housing resources, clothing, food, and transportation. They found school clothes and shoes for her son, even laundry detergent that wouldn’t irritate his skin. And they gave Dominique something she hadn’t realized she needed: a place where she felt safe.

“It was almost like they rebuilt me.”

As Dominique worked to rebuild her life, MCFOAR remained beside her. But what mattered to her was that they didn’t do the work for her. They helped her believe she could do it herself.

“You really just need somebody who advocates for you and who helps you take back control of your life…and gives you your confidence back.”

Today, Dominique has a home and a job she loves. She’s going back to college. Her son has stability, and she describes their life as being built on faith, love, compassion and a desire to help others.

But Dominique doesn’t see her journey simply as a success story. She sees it as evidence of what can happen when someone going through a difficult season is treated with dignity rather than judgment.

“To have somebody who holds your hand while you do that, but also doesn’t take the credit for it—allows you to have that pride in your accomplishment—I think is what really changes the world.”

Now Dominique wants other people facing difficult circumstances to know what she learned: A hard chapter doesn’t have to be the end of the story. Every day can offer another opportunity to move forward.

“It’s a new slate. It’s a new chance for possibilities.”

And when Dominique talks to the people whose donations make that work possible, she wants them to understand exactly what they’re investing in:

“We are completely full of hope. We are not hopeless. We are definitely worth giving another chance.”