Making all the right moves

Chester County Dept. of Community Development

Lyndsey May

Lyndsey May was a young single mother with no high school diploma and no family support. Things looked bleak for Lyndsey and her daughter, Cassidy. Her major form of support, her grandfather, had passed away when Lyndsey was 19 years old, leaving her homeless, uneducated and jobless. But her strong will to succeed, coupled with assistance from the Chester County Department of Community Development (DCD), proved to be Lyndsey's key to success.  

When her grandfather died, Lyndsey knew she would have to find work. In hopes of supporting herself and her daughter, she found a job at a convenience store. "Walking into my first day on the job," Lyndsey says, "I asked myself 'where will this job get me in ten years?' I quickly walked out and began to cry."

It was at that point that Lyndsey began focusing on goals and what she needed to do to achieve them. First on her list was getting her high school diploma. She also hoped for a career that she would enjoy and that would provide adequately for both her and her daughter. At the same time, Lyndsey knew she needed to address her housing issue.

With the help of DCD, Lyndsey sought appropriate resources throughout Chester County. The Pennsylvania CareerLink in Coatesville helped her to obtain her General Equivalency Diploma. With that hurdle behind her, Lyndsey applied for and completed computer classes so that she could pursue employment in the business field.

Lyndsey then learned about the Single Point of Contact program administered by the DCD. She participated in their driver's license classes, passing her driver's test and receiving her license. She was accepted into the Pennsylvania Home of the Sparrow Transitional Housing Program, funded through DCD with Department of Public Welfare Homeless Assistance Program funds. PA Home of the Sparrow offers a twelve- to eighteen-month residential program for single woman and mothers with children. By participating in this program, Lyndsey was able to access parenting, budgeting and financial management classes through another DCD funded agency, the YWCA of Chester County. She could also benefit from nutrition classes through the local Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, administered by the Chester County Health Department.

Two years after finding herself homeless, uneducated and jobless, Lyndsey is well on her way to achieving the goals she set for herself. She moved into her own apartment with subsidy assistance from the Community, Youth and Women's Alliance, a non-profit organization funded by DCD and was hired as the part-time front desk receptionist at the Chester County Department of Community Development. After only six months, Lyndsey applied for and secured a full-time administrative position within the department. Her daughter Cassidy is enrolled in the West Chester Area Day Care Center and is thriving.  

Lyndsey feels that she would not have been as successful if it were not for the compassion and help of all the agencies with which she worked. She says, "I want to spread the word to all young mothers that there is help out there. These organizations have helped me to realize the joys in life, how to appreciate each and every day with my daughter and to never give up. There will always be someone to help you and, most of all, it is okay to ask for help."

Chester County Department of Community Development is the Community Action Agency helping Chester County residents achieve independence.