Alma and her family are part of Hawthorne Community Center’s 2Gen – short for two-generation – program. Developed by the Aspen Institute, 2Gen programming focuses on supporting the whole family.

At church, the family prayed.

Alma had decided to leave Chicago for Indianapolis. She was fleeing domestic violence and abuse, she said, and hoping for a new life for her family. She wanted to show her teenage daughter and two young sons that God was with them, that they could overcome.

Before they left, they prayed that everything would be OK, that God would put the right people in their path to succeed in their new home.

Alma had only $60 and a messenger bag with important documents inside, including a protective order, she said.

In Indianapolis, a relative told them about Hawthorne Community Center and Rita Carlos, a family coach there. When Alma met Rita for the first time, she brought her messenger bag of documents. She cried as she told Rita her story.

Rita began with baby steps, first helping the family find housing, food and utility assistance. After that, she and the Hawthorne team assisted in enrolling the children in school and getting grants to cover childcare costs. Alma said Hawthorne also connected the family to a therapist.

“Hawthorne is a really blessed place for families,” Alma said in Spanish, her daughter translating. “They have blessed us in many ways.”

Alma and her family are part of Hawthorne’s 2Gen – short for two-generation – program. Developed by the Aspen Institute, 2Gen programming focuses on supporting the whole family, both children and their caregivers, to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.

Hawthorne’s 2Gen work brings together its youth programs and those aimed at helping adults achieve financial stability and employment. United Way’s Family Opportunity Fund has allowed Hawthorne to hire family coaches, who focus on helping households reach their goals, said Caleb Sutton, Hawthorne’s executive director.

For the 2021-2022 funding cycle, United Way awarded Hawthorne $350,000 from the Family Opportunity Fund and $220,000 from the Basic Needs Fund.

“Without the funding from United Way we wouldn’t be able to invest in family coaches,” Sutton said. “... It's really allowed us to go deeper with clients and really continue to have very meaningful long-term relationships.”

Hawthorne Community Center has been serving families on Indianapolis’ west side since 1923. Today, it assists about 3,000 people annually and is also a Center for Working Families site.

Alma’s daughter, Mariana, said Rita recommended a high school for her and helped the family get through the pandemic, which began shortly after they arrived in Indianapolis.

In her junior year, Mariana began looking at college options but didn’t know what she wanted to study. She said she prayed for guidance on a career path. Then, she thought of Rita, how patient and friendly she’d been.

“It’s a blessing to have that type of job. Every day, you’re doing something for someone,” Mariana said. “I want to do that.”

When it came time to write her college admissions essay, Mariana wrote about her family and about Hawthorne. She wrote about Rita: “... I strongly feel she is responsible for changing the course of our life.”

Mariana wrote about how Rita inspired her, how she wants to become a social worker.

“... I have developed a passion to be a resource for those in need,” she wrote. “I want to help others feel safe and use my ability to speak Spanish to connect with the community so they can benefit from my services.”

A few months ago, Mariana was in the car with her mom when the notification popped up on her phone: her acceptance letter. She’ll start her freshman year at Indiana University Bloomington this fall with a full scholarship – on her way to becoming the first in her family to earn a college degree.

In the car that day, Mariana looked at her mom, and they cried.

They said another prayer. Only this time, it was one of gratitude.