Rodriguez has reached her fundraising goal on HandUp!

About me.

I was born and raised in Mexico, by both of my parents and along with my siblings. I grew up in a large family. It was 11 of us so after completing Middle School, I had to drop out of school and start working to help my family. I started cleaning houses at age 14. My parents had land to farm so they spent most of their time there.

I came to the United States in 2003. I initially went to Los Angeles and lived there for a couple of years but I left what was then my home due to domestic violence. I came to San Francisco, looking for new opportunities and to get my children and myself away from that situation and that individual. Upon my arrival, I looked for my cousins who had been living in the city for awhile. Unfortunately when I arrived to their house, they were no longer living there. I had no way to contact them and I didn't know anyone else so I looked for other resources including shelters, to help my 4 children and I. We stayed at Misioneras de la Caridad for 6 months and then moved to Raphael House where we finally had food and shelter.

My backstory.

Right now, my children and I are receiving services from Raphael House. Our stay here has been going very well and we are all very happy to have a place to stay in temporarily. It’s way better than living in the streets and we are very thankful for the resources we continue to receive.

My hardest challenge right now is finding housing. It’s very difficult to not have a home, to not have a place to live, and it’s been very hard to find a place that accepts 4 children. It has also been hard because I’m a single mother. I have a lot of responsibilities and a lot of errands I need to run for my children and myself. I take my 2 oldest daughters to summer camp, my 2 youngest to daycare, sometimes they have appointments, I go to my English course, I go look for housing.. It’s a lot of things, but I always manage to be productive, get things done and take my children to the park for half hour.

My goals, moving forward.

I’m fundraising with HandUp because my children need shoes and clothes. My two oldest need school uniforms and my youngest needs pampers and baby clothes. I am currently not working and need help while I am on the job hunt. I am currently receiving Career Development Services, because aside from finding housing, my other personal goals are to find a stable job and complete my English courses. Thank you in advance for reading a part of my story. I am very thankful for your good wishes and kind words.

Other things I'd like to share about myself.

What makes me the happiest is to know that my children are happy and healthy. I am very thankful and it makes me very happy to see them grow day by day. My oldest daughter graduated the other day and it was just so amazing to see her accomplish that goal. One of her teachers approached me and thanked me for being a good mom and for being so responsible and teaching her good manners. It made me feel good to hear her say that I am a good mom and hear such positive feedback. I love my children and will continue to be their number 1 supporter.