At 20 years old, Dahliya already held three healthcare certifications: Certified Nursing Assistant, Medication Technician, and Medical Assistant. She had built real credentials, the kind that point toward a career in nursing. Then an unhealthy living situation cost her both her apartment and her job at once, and the path forward disappeared.
She had been supporting herself since the age of 16. Now, at 20, she was homeless.
Dahliya leaned on her faith during that period and stayed close to her family. A cousin encouraged her to apply at Goodwill. Her case manager from Safe Children’s Coalition went a step further and reached out to the organization directly on her behalf. The outreach led to an interview, and Dahliya was hired as a cashier at the Bargain Barn location.
She was still without stable housing when she started.
Rather than keep that to herself, she told her supervisors. That conversation connected her to Goodwill’s Good Partner Coach program. The GPC worked quickly, linking her with the Blessing Bags Project, a community organization that covered the deposit on a new apartment. On June 1, Dahliya unlocked her own front door for the first time in months.
The support did not stop there. Goodwill provided food assistance during her transition, helping her meet basic needs while she found her footing. As her circumstances stabilized, something else shifted too. The confidence she had carried before the crisis began returning, reinforced by a workplace where she felt respected and heard.
With housing secured and a steady income, Dahliya re-enrolled at the State College of Florida. Her goal is the Registered Nurse program, with a long-term aim of earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Safe Children’s Coalition agreed to cover a significant portion of her ongoing rent, reducing the financial pressure enough that school and work could happen at the same time.
She came to Goodwill needing a job during one of the most difficult stretches of her life. What she found was a network that moved on her behalf — supervisors who listened, a Good Partner Coach who made the right referral, and community partners ready to act. The certifications she had worked for never disappeared. She just needed enough stability to build on them again.
To learn more about Goodwill’s employment and community support programs, visit our website.