2024 Year End Giving
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"The Factory taught me to hold my head up high."
Kristina's Story
Since her very first introduction to the Factory when her son began attending Youth Center, Kristina has worked hard to take advantage of every opportunity offered. She remembers first taking a Getting Ahead class, in which she accomplished all the goals she had listed, lost 175lbs, and started going to one of The Factory’s partner churches, Grace Point.
It was “the most beautiful experience I ever had at a church,” she recalls.
Then life took a heavy turn when a son was diagnosed with brain cancer and a daughter lost her hand, but The Factory and Grace Point “always showed up with support…it was a blessing.” Things didn’t stay dark for long, afterwards Kristina was able to get her GED through The Factory, and then started college.
“Everything I experienced from the Factory and their partners was life-changing in so many ways…I learned to be strong and to hold my head high no matter what I was going through.”
When the pandemic hit, hardships began to strike again. “We lost our house and my daughter became suicidal, it was a really hard time… But The Factory was still there for me.” With a new housing program for families, The Factory was able to provide housing and support for Kristina’s family for over two years, and get them connected to a program that helped with the purchase of a car. Kristina and her family worked incredibly hard to maintain these programs by regularly attending appointments, and completing goals and requirements for each of the programs.
“Now my husband has moved up twice in lead positions at the company he found a job at, and for the first time in 27 years we make too much to qualify for food stamps…can you imagine the feeling? My daughter went from suicidal to straight A’s, and we are now touring colleges and she is taking her mental health seriously. I became a better wife and a better mom. All these years The Factory and their church partners have helped to lift me and my family up out of horrible situations. This community has come together to make something so amazing for people in my position. I’m honored to be a part of this community, of this blessing that was given to me. I am proud of who I am, of what I have done, and who I have become.”