Mollina Wilson has had a difficult life. She grew up in Colorado with a father who was unable to take care of her. He suffered from alcoholism, was a heroin addict and schizophrenic. Due to this, Mollina went through a number of abuses. After her father passed away a week before her seventh birthday; Mollina was put into the system. She went from foster home to foster home before she was adopted by a family in Dayton. When Mollina moved to Dayton, it was really hard for her to adjust. “I was really fighting a lot and getting suspended from school. And then from that to going to juvenile, group homes, and residential facilities. Nothing seemed to be working.”
When Molina was 23, her life took a new turn. She was pregnant. Mollina then decided to sign up for benefits. “I went down to the job center; I was 8 months pregnant. I decided to sign up for cash assistance and food stamps. They told me I would have to do a work assignment for my benefits and we chose Goodwill.” Mollina dreaded the idea; already determined that any program wouldn’t care about her or her pregnancy.
Mollina was wrong. She was introduced to Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley and the Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program (CCMEP). CCMEP’s mission is to help people who are on government assistance become more independent and gain self-sufficiency. Mollina sat down with her job coach and mapped out her life goals. Mollina, along with her job coach, knew she had potential.
During her initial assessment, Mollina indicated she has had problems in the past with other programs. She usually just used the programs to get what she needed and was ashamed to ask for help, but this time was different. The Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program offered her much more than just a class. “I felt safe and I could trust the people around me for assistance not just in skills training, but learning to believe in myself, overcoming obstacles, and finally having a career path.”
“I had little motivation, little inspiration and very little hope because I just didn’t know which way to go. I had put myself in this hole and had to dig myself out of it and I just really didn’t know how. Then I found my inspiration which is the Goodwill.”
Mollina is hard working, determined and motivated. She is comfortable with herself, stable and most importantly happy. Mollina is now employed with Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley. It is a full time position with benefits and it enables her to be a supportive mother to her young son. She is determined to help others like Goodwill helped her. She wants everyone to know the power of Goodwill.
“A lot of people don’t know exactly what the Goodwill is and why it is here. There’s always hope and there’s help and that’s what the Goodwill is here for.”
What an amazing accomplishment. You are victorious Molina! Keep inspiring and sharing the great things that Goodwill has to offer. I hope you know that you are not your past but, that it all led you up to this point in your life. Molina the love you feel when people give of themselves and their time, is truly the way God intended. You are blessed to be a blessing. Be the person you want to encounter, and I pray that you make an even greater impact on the lives placed in your path.
this really touched me and would love to be on the same path she took…
I have watched this fine young woman grow over the past couple of years. She is an incredible inspiration to all.