Linda Kay Monroe Whelan Memorial Education Scholarship

When I turned 10 years old my mom became unhoused and started living in her car. It was unsettling to me as a child to not have a place to call home. I was able to sleep at my dad's house but I really only wanted to be with my mom and when I was with her I didn't have a room like other kids to play in or a desk to do homework on. My mom struggled for months in that situation sometimes not able to go on job interviews because she didn't have a place to shower and put on clean clothes. I found FAM when I was in high school. Their mission is to feed and house unhoused people and then train them to eventually take care of themselves again. Their mission is to end homelessness by teaching people the skills they need to get and keep meaningful employment, budget and pay taxes, and find housing suitable for their situation. I decided this was the perfect way for me to start helping people that were in the same situation as my mom once was. At FAM I primarily work as pantry staff accepting deliveries of food and other items from local grocery stores and sorting it in the warehouse for distribution to families. I also help coordinate distribution to the families that come through to get food for daily living as well as special events like Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. My favorite distribution is the holiday one just before Christmas. FAM has an adopt a family event where people in the community adopt a family for Christmas and deliver gifts to the warehouse. I get to participate in the distribution of these gifts to the families. To see the joy on people's faces who are so incredibly grateful to have gifts for their kids at Christmas is better than any gift I could receive. This year I decided to adopt a family myself. While I didn't really have the money to do this, I raised money through my work at a local restaurant to be able to buy bikes and skates for a family with teenage boys. I enjoyed shopping for gifts for this family and am so happy to have made this Christmas special for these kids who are in the same position I was in many years ago. I only wish my mom knew about this organization back then! My mom has since been able to get out of her unfortunate situation and is now happy and thriving with a great job and a house for us to call home. I do hope to continue service work for the unhoused population in the future. I would like to study in the field of medicine and become a Doctor or Nurse that can help lower income communities get the healthcare they need. While providing food and a roof over their heads is great, I know showing care and compassion and being able to listen to people's needs is a big part of helping people heal and become happy and healthy families.