Overcoming obstacles

Pittsburgh Community Services Inc.

Mona Stuvaints

After six years of incarceration at Muncy State Correctional Institution for Women, Mona Stuvaints was released in June 2005 to Community Corrections in Pittsburgh, a half-way house. In September 2005 she went to live with a relative but discovered that the house had no running water.

That same month, Mona came to Pittsburgh Community Services, Inc. (PCSI) after completing her shift at a fast food restaurant and asked for assistance in finding a place to sleep for the night. After several hours of telephone contacts, PCSI was able to locate a place for Mona at "New Beginnings" and provide bus tickets to travel to the facility.  

While at "New Beginnings," Mona interviewed for and received transitional housing while continuing to work part time. She joined the "Introduction to Computers" class as well as the "Job Club" at PCSI. She gained some computer skills and began developing her resume while regularly attending counseling sessions.

Mona applied for a number of employment opportunities but surprisingly was offered a position for which she had not applied - a night monitor at "New Beginnings," the shelter where she had stayed. The staff and administration knew that she was seeking employment and remembered the positive way in which she had interacted with other residents. She has maintained the position and often works more than 40 hours a week.

Mona next set her sights on finding her own residence.   She applied and qualified for Section 8 housing through the City of Pittsburgh. She moved into her own apartment and with assistance from a variety of social service agencies, is furnishing her apartment. Mona has been able to maintain her monthly rent, bills and restitution. She has gained confidence and self-respect, feeling like a real contributor to the community.

"I am now on a quest to fulfill my life with more than self-preservation and drugs," says Mona. "I have learned a sense of socialization and how to [better] interact with people."  

She is a warm person who genuinely cares for others and has a constant smile that is uplifting to other people.

Even with the constant challenges facing Mona every day, she has become both a mentor and a beacon in other people's lives. Mona has become self-sufficient in spite of all the odds.

Pittsburgh Community Services, Inc. addresses the causes of poverty and strives to diminish its effects by empowering low-income residents of Pittsburgh to move from poverty to self-sufficiency.