The FSS Program: “A lesson and a blessing”
By the time 2024 Family Self-Sufficiency Program graduate Nariada Arroyo of Springfield arrived for our 10 o’clock interview to chat about her experience with the program—which she dubbed “a lesson and a blessing”—she’d already logged a busy morning.
“I’m a very fast paced worker. I just boom, boom, boom, knock things down. I’ve already done ten things today. Including buying bread and butter for my colleagues, just to lift everybody’s spirits. My boss asked about it and I said, ‘Yeah, I planned that.’ He said, ‘Well done!’” said Arroyo, a homecare supervisor with Golden Years Homecare Services of Springfield. “I also submitted time-off requests for the office manager, because the admin was out. And other things, like following up with referrals.”
Arroyo, who has been in the homecare service for nine years, had previously completed a certificate in criminal justice. But she never felt as drawn to that field as she is to homecare—which prioritizes helping older adults and people with disabilities to maintain their independence at home—as exemplified by a recent encounter at a Puerto Rican festival.
“I was staffing a booth for my employer, and an older man stopped by, he was just talking to me and I’m talking to him. Then he just started dancing to the salsa! And I felt the joy in me, just seeing him being that age, with that drive and energy to just keep it going. It filled my heart. So I know this is where I need to be,” said Arroyo, a mother of four, two of whom live at home, and grandmother of three. “I love meeting different people, to see different personalities. And to interact with community members and neighbors. My skills are serving as a mentor, ensuring all my clients feel comfortable, that their needs are met to a hundred percent. And listening, advocating, things like that.”
Since joining the program in 2018, three years after receiving a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, Arroyo has also been listening to Family Self-Sufficiency Advisor Evelyn Baez.
“Managing my finances and credit, that was my struggle. That’s where I had to really put some structure in my life. And it was hard. But I did it!” said Arroyo. “What I liked most about the program was that I had someone there not to scold me, but to guide me. It set boundaries and stability for me. Even though I fell a couple times, Evelyn always had the right words to lead me forward. I had a lot of teary, anxious moments. She was always there to pass me the invisible towel and say, ‘Wipe it up, keep pushing, you got this.’”
Arroyo, who graduated from the FSS program with a substantial amount of money that she saved in her escrow account—established as a participant’s income and share of rent increase—doesn’t pretend to have it all figured out.
“Even as I grew in my pay rate, living, to this day, is a struggle because the cost of living has gone drastically up. I haven’t mastered my finances. But I have been able to see where my weaknesses are and where my strengths are, and try to level it out to balance,” said Arroyo, who uses a variety of apps to help manage and track her finances.
“In my FSS role, which is really a coach, we ask participants to be accountable to us as we help them on their path,” said Baez. “I’d ask Nariada to share a list of her debts, and I’d sense that maybe she didn’t want me to know. But I’d send a reminder and boom, she’d share it and we’d go through it. ‘OK, you did good here, this went up, what happened here?’ And then a few months go by, and we’d check again on her debt ratio. And she’d say, ‘Oh, I paid this off, Evelyn! I’m so happy.’ Part of this process was emphasizing the difference between ‘I want’ and ‘I need.’ Even for her kids.”
Raising a middle schooler and a high schooler is not always easy, as Arroyo noted.
“As adults, we live with the demands of finances. But kids live with the demands of social peers, the fashion, the ‘I got to haves.’ We still battle. But now that I speak about my goal of purchasing a home, they understand more. My son says, ‘I’ll pay for my clothes, I want to get a job, I’ll pay my phone bill,’” said Arroyo.
“When Nariada started incorporating her kids with her long-term goal to buy a home, things really started to come together. Because kids demand a lot of parents, but they don’t think about where the money comes from,” said Baez. “I mean, you don’t stop living. But you just downgrade and minimize a little bit, you curb the pizza every weekend or whatever it is. She started doing that and her finances took off, her debt ratio lowered. Her credit score is awesome, she was able to get pre-approved from the bank. That was hard work and discipline, I’m very proud of her.”
Arroyo was especially proud of herself this past year, when she received her tax refund. Was she tempted to take a vacation, buy new clothes, buy this and that? Yes. But she had a plan.
“I acted like I didn’t see it, like I didn’t care about it. I just threw it all at the bills! That was my vision and I did it,” said Arroyo. “These days, every time I open up my bank account and see the amount, I’m like, ‘Really?’ I feel blessed. I hope to put it toward my home purchase.”
There was one more thing Arroyo had in mind the morning of our meeting, which she let slide as we wrapped up. “So, I found a house! It’s really nice. Good for the kids, good for the grandkids. I love it, it has four bedrooms. It’s near my work, in a quiet area. I put a bid in and it was accepted, I found out last night. Everything’s shifting in the right direction, I’m just holding onto hope.”
To be continued—with a follow-up story on first-time homebuyer Arroyo, we hope!