Michelle is a single mother who lost everything when COVID eliminated her job as a school bus driver in Albany, NY. After living without electricity for two weeks, she loaded what little they had into her 2014 Kia Sorento and moved her three children to Tampa, Florida. Re-employed as a bus driver at the University of Tampa, she dreams of owning a business. Her motivation is to provide financial security and be a role model for her 13-year-old twins and a 9-year-old daughter.

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Michelle’s goal is to achieve what is impossible for most people who receive the benefit of Section 8 housing subsidy. She must jump the “benefits cliff.” To make a single dollar more, she needs to make $21,512. It’s all or nothing to not risk her stable housing. As any mother would experience given the risk for her family, fear threatens the progress toward her goal.

 

The odds seem stacked against Michelle. Will her Opportunity Coach, Patrice Washington, help her to break stereotypes and beat the odds when opportunity knocks?