Pursuing higher education or training is tough. It’s hard work, long hours, late nights and stressful deadlines. It’s hard even when you go to college right after high school and you have no other responsibilities and the stamina for that kind of craziness. 

Now imagine how much more difficult it would be once you have a family and children to care for on top of all of that. It’s a lot to juggle, especially if you’re also a low-income parent. Any sort of unexpected financial need can throw you off course and possibly force you to drop out of school. 

Picture this: you’re a low income single mom going to cosmetology school. You were homeless when you started school, but determined to start anyway. You finally found a place to live recently, but you don’t have anything you need to furnish a home and your only income is TANF. 

Or imagine  you’re a single mom of three who has worked super hard and is 6 weeks from graduating with a degree in addiction counseling, but then your car breaks down and the repairs will cost more than the state educational assistance program, Higher Opportunity Pathways to Education (HOPE), can help you with. You’re desperate to finish school, so you rent a uhaul truck to get to classes but it costs so much to drive and you can’t keep it up forever. 

Or try being a dad in nursing school. Your wife works as much as she can, but you have two children with disabilities and the special van that you need to transport them broke down. Your nursing program is very strict and doesn’t allow you to miss classes, so your wife is missing work and there just isn’t enough money to fix the van. You’re in the last year of your degree, so close to being able to earn a good living, but how do you even function if you can’t drive your kids where they need to go? 

These are just a few of the stories that I’ve heard so far as part of Maine Equal Justice’s new Build HOPE project. Build HOPE launched in January 2022 through a generous investment  from former Speaker of the House Sara Gideon. The goal of the project is to provide low-income parents who are attending school with funds to meet needs that aren’t being covered by other programs. Additionally, through this project we’re able to collect information and learn more about what families need most  and the difference it can make to get those needs met. 

So far, we’ve been able to send funds to 39 individuals. We’ve given away $74,000 with an average gift of $1,637. People have applied to the program looking for help with a wide range of needs; from essential home repairs to help paying bills to money to see the doctor and pay for medication. 

Every time an individual applies to the Build HOPE project, a member of the MEJ team calls them for an interview to go over their needs and the resources they are accessing to ensure they aren’t missing out on help they need. In addition to the funds we’ve provided, we’ve been able to help parents access Food Assistance (SNAP), MaineCare, and HEAP (heating assistance)--all support that will help to lessen the amount of debt they will end up with as a student and to ensure they are able to start their new careers on the firmest footing possible. 

Education and training is one of the surest pathways out of poverty even if the path is difficult to travel, the end result is greater likelihood of economic stability for parents and their children. The parents we work with in Build HOPE know this, and they are determined to take that path and succeed. It’s been a real privilege to have this opportunity to provide some assistance they can use to remove barriers and reach their goals.