The Children's Center
NLD ID #92079
Contact Information
Cost Info
The Center charges $60/week per child for full-time education and care. Families who cannot afford may be eligible for outside funding. The first 30-days are free to our client families.Student and Volunteer Success Stories
Nike Chenevert (45) is a single mother of Dodger Chenevert (4) and two adult daughters. Dodger is enrolled in preschool at Ocean View and loves books. He's a chain-reader.
In 2014, the family became homeless when Nike separated from her husband. She couldn't find work because she was legally blind. She had some sight, but saw everything through a graffitied glass window. She had few job skills.
She moved in with her eldest daughter, but then her daughter sold the home and moved to Georgia. Nike had to find a place to live.
"I had this sinking feeling of 'What's next?'" she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I looked for work, but I couldn't see well enough to work. I couldn't operate a computer."
Nike and her family lived in her car and stayed in a motel when she could afford a room. At one point, they moved in with Nike's mother in Pasadena, but living there violated her mother's lease. They returned to the car.
"Living in a car is very unsafe," Nike said. "You're so exposed, and I had no bootstrap to pull myself up with. I saw nothing but trouble for the future, and I didn't want that."
Nike found her way to the Department of Rehabilitation, which referred her to Harbor Interfaith. We placed her in our Emergency Shelter. While in the shelter, her case manager helped her enroll in a customer service training program through Junior Blind. The case manager also helped secure permanent housing in A Community of Friends (ACOF) housing program.
ACOF offers permanent supportive housing for people who have less than 30% of Area Median Income and have a mental, physical, or developmental disability. To ensure that the tenants stay housed and gain self-sufficiency, ACOF provides services through its staff and in collaboration with other agencies.
"Autonomy is what I want," Nike said. "I'm a couple of units away from my Associate's Degree, and then I'll do a bachelor's and a master's. I want to be a case manager who helps the homeless. I understand what it's like. It was horrible living in a car and worrying about the safety of my children. I want to help others avoid the
Education services
- Read and write better
- Help my child learn
Instruction Type
- In-person