‘It’s helped me be a better mother.’ Pathways helps young adults get out on their own
To say Lucia Oseguera didn’t have a stable upbringing is an understatement.
Born in the Fresno area 25 years ago, Oseguera moved around for years as her mother followed field work in California and Washington.
When she was 13 and in the seventh grade, Oseguera’s family moved to Mexico, where her mother and older brother had been born. “I was the only American,” she said.
Oseguera struggled in school, because she didn’t speak Spanish. She lived there for about four years, and always had hopes of attending college. But because her brother was a Mexican national, his tuition was $30 a year. Hers would have been $3,000. So she got a job at an office supply store to save up money.
“I worked 10 hours a day, seven days a week and made $150,” she said. That money went toward a bus ticket to Washington, where she lived for a while, attended school and met the father of her daughter, now 6. He was from Modesto, which led her here.
When that relationship dissolved, Oseguera found herself at 21 in a strange town, with a young daughter and no family.
“I just had my daughter, a stroller, a suitcase with her clothes and a trash bag with my clothes,” she said.
Enter Pathways.
Pathways, a program of the Center for Human Services, provides supportive services and apartments to young people between the ages of 18 and 24 who are homeless, or are at risk of becoming homeless.
Residents take part in learning programs and work toward permanent housing.
“When I arrived at Pathways, I didn’t know what was going to be in my life,” Oseguera said. She took classes on parenting, organization, even paying her taxes.
“It’s helped me to be a better mother,” she said.
Oseguera lived at the Pathways program for six months before making the transition to assisted housing, and then out on her own.
Clients aren’t required to pay anything to live at Pathways, but they are expected to save money and within two years must move out. Most don’t take that long. Center for Human Services is expanding the program, and plans to open a navigation center and low-barrier shelter for young adults at its main office on Briggsmore Avenue.
But even later Pathways clients can come back for “aftercare services.”
Oseguera did that when she wanted to attend Modesto Junior College. She has secured scholarships and a work-study job, and is working toward transferring to a four-year college and majoring in communications.
“I’m really passionate about helping others in my situation,” she said.
In addition to life skills and a place to stay, Pathways provided a much-needed feeling of safety.
“I never had that security before,” she said. “The possibilities were endless here.
“You really feel like the community’s there for you.”
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This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 11:40 AM.
