Parenting happens to be one of the most difficult jobs of all. Single parenting increases that difficulty exponentially. The story of Maria Quintana exemplifies this, but her story is also one of triumph.
Quintana has two young children. Unemployed, she received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for her and her children’s meals. Homeless, she and her children stayed with a friend three days a week. They then lived in her car the other four. Her father’s passing in 2020 and family issues, she said, led to this situation. Although Quintana and her children lived with her grandmother previously, that ended with her grandmother’s passing in 2021. The children’s father, Quintana said, is not in their lives.
A Determination to Change Paths
Desperate to change the trajectory of her life and the lives of her children, Quintana applied to the Associate Degree Nursing Program at South Texas College and the Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement. Almost 30 years ago, leaders of Valley Interfaith joined forces with regional business leaders to create VIDA, with the vision of providing comprehensive support services that would allow adults in the Rio Grande Valley to end the cycle of poverty and create a better vida, or life, for themselves. The founders knew the ripple effect of producing a well-educated populace trained in high-demand, high-paying fields. Success for the individual, they knew, would lead to a better outlook for their families, as well as increased spending power and the ability to end public assistance.
VIDA accepted Quintana, and she began the ADN Program in the spring of 2022. She said she knew for years she wanted to work in the field of allied health. She was first inspired by her grandparents, who suffered with a range of medical conditions. In high school, she earned certification as an emergency medical technician.
Now, Quintana’s primary motivation is her children, determined to provide for them while fulfilling her dream of becoming a nurse.
Finding and Building a Home
As part of its comprehensive support services, VIDA referred Quintana to Christian’s Manor in San Juan, a nonprofit organization for single parents pursuing higher education. Christian Manor accepted Quintana and her children, ending their desperate attempts to find places to live and to sleep. VIDA also provides participants with financial assistance for tuition, books, uniforms and equipment, and other needs that, if left unmet, could become a barrier to education, a barrier too steep to scale.
Quintana is scheduled to graduate in December. Upon graduation, she qualifies to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses, a test nursing graduates are required to take and pass to become licensed registered nurses in the U.S.
“After graduation, I see myself being a nurse, working at a local hospital, helping take care of our community,” Quintana said. “And, most importantly, once I am financially stable, I plan to buy a home we can finally call ‘Our Home.’”
To learn more about VIDA, visit vidacareers.org.