We first shared Fayona’s journey and progress with Community Progress Council in 2022. In February, we caught up with Fayona for an update! Below is her updated story, with the original story shared below.
If Fayona has one thing to tell her past self, it’s to keep going.
“Your time is coming, keep going,” she said.
A mom of two, Fayona has been working with Community Progress Council on big goals over the past several years: Going back to school, budgeting and saving for a home, and growing her career. Her determination is paying off.
“The dream hasn’t changed,” she said, sharing about her journey to pursue her bachelor’s degree in social work.
Conversation with her Coach at Community Progress Council affirmed her path.
“She knows if I’m needing any advice, she’ll help me out,” Fayona said. “In social work, I know that I still get to work with the families. In the school setting, outside school, it doesn’t stop there, I can go anywhere.”
Having finished her associate’s degree with Eastern University in December, she’ll formally graduate in May. In the meantime, she’s already working toward her bachelor’s degree.
She’s also taken on a new job with Laurel Life, working within Eastern School District as a transition coordinator to help elementary-aged students re-enter a general education classroom. The role comes with better opportunities to further her career, important as Fayona continues to work toward self-sufficiency.
“I love that I’m in the classroom, but not all day long,” Fayona said. “I still get to branch off with different teachers and see how they work throughout the building.”
“I told myself, ‘You have this experience. It’s time to shift and see what else you can do.’”
She’s still determined to set a good example for her kids — her son, now 14, entering high school this year, and her daughter, almost 9.
“They understand it,” Fayona said. “They see me working hard. Plenty of times I wanted to give up, but my kids are looking at me. I just kept saying, ‘I want to make it better.’”
Her Coach at Community Progress Council has been with her since day one. And although the housing market has made it tougher to pursue her goal of homeownership, she’s been able to put into practice the skills she’s gained in budgeting.
Prayer keeps her motivated, she said, and God continues to help her through it.
As for graduation in May, she’s ready to celebrate.
“I get to walk across the stage and everything, my kids get to see me do it,” she said. “It’s all worth it.”
We first shared Fayona’s journey and progress with Community Progress Council in 2022. Below is her original story.
Fayona Thompson moved from Baltimore to York in 2018 looking for a change. As a past driver for Maryland Transit Authority, she starting driving school buses to provide for her family. It was OK. But, as a single mom of two, she wanted to be home more with her kids.
Relying on her past work experience in early childhood, daycare, and camp settings, she applied to be an assistant teacher with the Head Start program at Community Progress Council.
“I was managing, but not really,” Fayona said. “I was just trying to get by every day as a single mom.”
Working in Community Progress Council’s main building on College Avenue, Fayona heard about the different opportunities and resources available to people looking to make progress on their path toward economic independence, including “Getting Ahead in A Just Gettin’ By World.”
“At first I was a little scared, because I don’t really talk about my life,” Fayona said. Over the 16-week program, she opened up to her co-investigators as they shared how poverty impacted their lives. “I learned a lot. I was like, all right, I can share my story. I got connected with more people.”
Fayona wanted to work toward big goals: Improving her credit, going back to school, and buying her first home. It came down, she says, to getting more knowledge about finances, how she could build her credit, how to budget, and how to prioritize — things she simply hadn’t learned growing up.
“When you’re trying to get by, you’re like, I just need something quick,” Fayona said. But her perspective changed after Getting Ahead. “No, I’m gonna take my time, read, investigate, ask questions,” she said. “Never be afraid to ask questions.”
Thanks to child care provided as part of the Getting Ahead program, Fayona’s children grew up in the program with her, every step of the way. She also had the support and encouragement of her coach through Community Progress Council.
“My coach is very trusting, easy to talk to, very understanding,” Fayona said. “I don’t feel judged when I talk to her.”
As for her goal to go back to school, Fayona enrolled at Eastern University for her bachelor’s degree, supported in part by the tuition reimbursement offered by Community Progress Council for Head Start teachers.
“At the end, I know it’s rewarding, for my children, not just me,” Fayona said. “They can see Mommy did it.”
Five years from now, Fayona jokes about being on a beach somewhere. But she also hopes to continue learning and expanding through the resources Community Progress Council has to offer. Recently, she’s been thinking about becoming a counselor for young children, providing the opportunity to talk to someone about feelings they might not be able to express anywhere else.
It’s a need that Fayona has seen firsthand in the classroom, as she works to develop trust with the children and families she serves through Head Start.
“Once you develop that trust with the parents and the children, they open up to you, they tell you what’s going on,” she said. “Then it’s, ‘OK, how can I help, what do you need.’”
And although she herself was shy at first, she now considers Community Progress Council her family.
“I feel more open telling my story,” Fayona said. “I’m not the only one going through something, and it’s not too late. I’m never too old to learn.”
“Community Progress Council is here to help. All you need to do is go, ask, make the connection.”