My name is Natalia Barboza, and I write to you from the upcountry slopes of Maui, Hawai'i. I am pursuing my Bachelor of Social Work, and minor in Psychology, at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I currently work as a case manager for a small non-profit that helps local mothers and their children experiencing homelessness to become economically empowered, and find housing, after leaving a domestic violence situation. We offer program participants transitional housing, family and economic strengthening, case management, life-skills classes, job-readiness training, and cultural/farm-based activities to facilitate healing and community. I absolutely love my work, and using my education I want to expand and offer programs that focus on preventative mental health support for whole families as this will target underlying causes of family violence and substance abuse issues that cause families to break apart. This cause is full circle for me, as I once was a participant in this program. My children's father was my partner for 14 years. My ex-husband's alcoholism eventually led to domestic violence which resulted in me fleeing with our daughters to a local emergency shelter, and eventually the transitional housing program that I now work for. I remember desperately trying to find programs or therapy options in our community and even out of state to help keep our family together by getting us the help we needed. We didn't succeed and the court system never mandated any treatment or supportive programs for my children's father. I would love for my daughters to spend more time with their father; however, it is still unsafe. I wish programs or legal policy existed to help families like ours - families that want help, can't afford/access it, and ultimately succumb and break, due to the impact of mental struggle or illness. I want to create and provide programs that help support, treat, and prevent family trauma which will result in uplifting and strengthening the community along with future generations. I want to use a model similar to the one used at my work, but with a heavier emphasis on use of culture, traditional sustainability skills (fishing, hunting, farming), and faith as a protective factors and therapeutic methods. I believe that connecting with roots and culture leads to a much stronger community and individual resilience, and a lot of that connection has been taken away in communities like mine. It is important to restore this connection, as communities/families/individuals will inevitably hit a ceiling in their wellbeing without a foundation in their heritage, their roots. Currently I do not qualify for financial aid assistance or private loans. I am a single mother of 2, working a full-time and 2nd or 3rd part-time jobs along with full-time school. I struggle to make enough to pay for my education without overworking myself and neglecting school and my family. I hope for support from scholarship like yours to move forward and pour back into my family, my work, and my community. Thank for reading my essay, and for all you do for students pursuing mental health careers!

My name is Natalia Barboza, and I write to you from the upcountry slopes of Maui, Hawai'i. I am pursuing my Bachelor of Social Work, and minor in Psychology, at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I currently work as a case manager for a small non-profit that helps local mothers and their children experiencing homelessness to become economically empowered and find housing after leaving a domestic violence situation. We offer program participants transitional housing, family and economic strengthening, case management, life-skills classes, job-readiness training, and cultural/farm-based activities to facilitate healing and community. I absolutely love my work and using my education I want to expand and offer programs that focus on community strengthening and preventative mental health support for whole families as this will target underlying causes of family violence and substance abuse issues that cause families to break apart. Working as a case manager at this program is full circle for me, as I once was a participant in this program. My children's father was my partner for 14 years. My ex-husband's alcoholism eventually led to domestic violence which resulted in me fleeing with our daughters to a local emergency shelter, and eventually the transitional housing program that I now work for. I remember desperately trying to find programs or therapy options in our community and even out of state to help keep our family together by getting us the help we needed. We didn't succeed and the court system never mandated any treatment or supportive programs for my children's father. I would love for my daughters to spend more time with their father; however, it is still unsafe. I wish programs or legal policy existed to help families like ours - families that want help, can't afford/access it, and ultimately succumb and break, due to the impact of mental struggle or illness. I want to create and provide programs that help support, treat, and prevent family trauma which will result in uplifting and strengthening the community along with future generations. I want to use a model similar to the one used at my work, but with a heavier emphasis on use of culture, traditional sustainability skills (fishing, hunting, farming), and faith as a protective factors and therapeutic methods. I believe that connecting with roots and culture leads to a much stronger community and individual resilience, and a lot of that connection has been taken away in communities like mine. It is important to restore this connection, as communities/families/individuals will inevitably hit a ceiling in their wellbeing without a foundation in their heritage, their roots. My current barrier is that I do not qualify for financial aid assistance or private loans. The domestic violence and homelessness experience that I described above happened during my first semester at UH Manoa a few years ago. Even though my GPA was a 3.8 from my years at community college, I lost my financial aid assistance during/due to this hardship. I am now trying again to finish my education. I am a single mother of 2, working a full-time and 2nd or 3rd part-time jobs along with full-time school. I struggle to make enough to pay for my education without overworking myself. When I do work 80+ hours a week I don't have the time for schoolwork and to care for my children. I hope for support from scholarship like yours to move forward and pour back into my family, my work, and my community. Thank for reading my essay, and for all you do for parents like me trying to finish their education!

Aloha, I hope this essay finds you well. My name is Natalia Barboza, and I write to you from the upcountry slopes of Maui, Hawai'i. I am pursuing my Bachelor of Social Work, and minor in Psychology, at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I currently work as a case manager for a small non-profit that helps local mothers and their children experiencing homelessness to become economically empowered and find housing after leaving a domestic violence situation. We offer program participants transitional housing, family and economic strengthening, case management, life-skills classes, job-readiness training, and cultural/farm-based activities to facilitate healing and community. I absolutely love my work and using my education I want to expand and offer programs that focus on community strengthening and preventative mental health support for whole families as this will target underlying causes of family violence and substance abuse issues that cause families to break apart. Working as a case manager at this program is full circle for me, as I once was a participant in this program. My children's father was my partner for 14 years. My ex-husband's alcoholism eventually led to domestic violence which resulted in me fleeing with our daughters to a local emergency shelter, and eventually the transitional housing program that I now work for. I remember desperately trying to find programs or therapy options in our community and even out of state to help keep our family together by getting us the help we needed. We didn't succeed and the court system never mandated any treatment or supportive programs for my children's father. I would love for my daughters to spend more time with their father; however, it is still unsafe. I wish programs or legal policy existed to help families like ours - families that want help, can't afford/access it, and ultimately succumb and break, due to the impact of mental struggle or illness. I want to create and provide programs that help support, treat, and prevent family trauma which will result in uplifting and strengthening the community along with future generations. I want to use a model similar to the one used at my work, but with a heavier emphasis on use of culture, traditional sustainability skills (fishing, hunting, farming), and faith as a protective factors and therapeutic methods. I believe that connecting with roots and culture leads to a much stronger community and individual resilience, and a lot of that connection has been taken away in communities like mine. It is important to restore this connection, as communities/families/individuals will inevitably hit a ceiling in their wellbeing without a foundation in their heritage, their roots. My current barrier is that I do not qualify for financial aid assistance or private loans. I am a single mother of 2, working a full-time and 2nd or 3rd part-time jobs along with full-time school. I struggle to make enough to pay for my education without overworking myself. When I do work 80+ hours a week I don't have the time for schoolwork and to care for my children. I hope for support from scholarship like yours to move forward and pour back into my family, my work, and my community. Thank for reading my essay, and for all you do!

My name is Natalia Barboza, and I write to you from the upcountry slopes of Maui, Hawai'i. I am pursuing my Bachelor of Social Work, and minor in Psychology, at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I currently work as a case manager for a small non-profit that helps local mothers and their children experiencing homelessness to become economically empowered, and find housing, after leaving a domestic violence situation. We offer program participants transitional housing, family and economic strengthening, case management, life-skills classes, job-readiness training, and cultural/farm-based activities to facilitate healing and community. I absolutely love my work, and using my education I want to expand and offer programs that focus on preventative mental health support for whole families as this will target underlying causes of family violence and substance abuse issues that cause families to break apart. My work as a case manager is full circle for me, as I once was a participant in this program. My children's father was my partner for 14 years. My ex-husband's alcoholism eventually led to domestic violence which resulted in me fleeing with our daughters to a local emergency shelter, and eventually the transitional housing program that I now work for. I remember desperately trying to find programs or therapy options in our community and even out of state to help keep our family together by getting us the help we needed. We didn't succeed and the court system never mandated any treatment or supportive programs for my children's father. I would love for my daughters to spend more time with their father; however, it is still unsafe. I wish programs or legal policy existed to help families like ours - families that want help, can't afford/access it, and ultimately succumb and break, due to the impact of mental struggle or illness. I want to create and provide programs that help support, treat, and prevent family trauma which will result in uplifting and strengthening the community along with future generations. I want to use a model similar to the one used at my current work, but with a heavier emphasis on use of culture, traditional sustainability skills (fishing, hunting, farming), and faith as a protective factors and therapeutic methods. My current barrier is that I do not qualify for financial aid assistance or private loans. When I was experiencing domestic violence and homelessness with my daughters, I had just started my first semester at UH Manoa a few years ago. I failed my classes in trying to work enough to afford housing and supporting my daughters alone. This led to me not qualifying for financial aid, as they do not look at the 3.8 GPA I had for my years at community college, but only the semester GPA at UH Manoa where I failed my classes due to hardship. I am a single mother of 2, working a full-time and 2nd or 3rd part-time jobs along with full-time school. I'm barely squeaking by with 2 jobs, but that doesn't include tuition. I struggle to make enough to pay for my education without overworking myself. When I do work 80+ hours a week I don't have the time for schoolwork and to care for my children. I hope for support from scholarship like yours to move forward in my education and career so that I can pour back into my family, my work, and my community - and make a living wage while doing so. Thank for reading my essay, and for all you do for single mamas continuing in their education!

Hello Mariko, I hope this essay finds you well and enjoying reading through many stories of love and resilience. Growing up with a single mother, my favorite activity was looking through photo albums and having my mother and grandmother endlessly recount the stories behind each photo. You see, the women in my family were activists and had such exciting (and often heartbreaking) experiences throughout their lives. My family has Native American, Chicano, and African roots. My mother and my grandmother showed such immense strength and courage in overcoming obstacles left and right throughout their lives. Yet, they had the heart to fight for others in their community that were facing racism, sexism, and economic barriers. The experiences my mother and grandmother shared gave me such a rich sense of identity, purpose, and belonging through culture and desire to help others like they did. Due to the inspiration from my mother's perseverance and my personal experiences growing up and being a single mother myself, I have found my calling in human services. I am pursuing my Bachelor of Social Work, and minor in Psychology, at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I currently work as a case manager for a small non-profit that helps local mothers and their children experiencing homelessness to become economically empowered, and find housing, after leaving a domestic violence situation. We offer program participants transitional housing, family and economic strengthening, case management, life-skills classes, job-readiness training, and cultural/farm-based activities to facilitate healing and community. I absolutely love my work, and using my education I want to expand and offer programs that focus on preventative mental health support for whole families as this will target underlying causes of family violence and substance abuse issues that cause families to break apart. This cause is full circle for me, as I once was a participant in this program. My children's father was my partner for 14 years. My ex-husband's alcoholism eventually led to domestic violence which resulted in me fleeing with our daughters to a local emergency shelter, and eventually the transitional housing program that I now work for. I remember desperately trying to find programs or therapy options in our community and even out of state to help keep our family together by getting us the help we needed. We didn't succeed and the court system never mandated any treatment or supportive programs for my children's father. I would love for my daughters to spend more time with their father; however, it is still unsafe. I wish programs or legal policy existed to help families like ours - families that want help, can't afford/access it, and ultimately succumb and break, due to the impact of mental struggle or illness. I want to create and provide programs that help support, treat, and prevent family trauma which will result in uplifting and strengthening the community along with future generations. I want to use a model similar to the one used at my work, but with a heavier emphasis on use of culture, traditional sustainability skills (fishing, hunting, farming), and faith as a protective factors and therapeutic methods. Currently I do not qualify for financial aid assistance or private loans. I am a single mother of 2, working a full-time and 2nd or 3rd part-time jobs along with full-time school. I struggle to make enough to pay for my education without overworking myself and neglecting school and my family. I hope for support from scholarship like yours to move forward and pour back into my family, my work, and my community. Thank for reading my essay, and for all you do!

Aloha to you folks at the WCEJ Thornton Foundation, My name is Natalia Barboza, and I write to you from the upcountry slopes of Maui, Hawai'i. I am pursuing my Bachelor of Social Work, and minor in Psychology, at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I currently work as a case manager for a small non-profit that helps local mothers and their children experiencing homelessness to become economically empowered, and find housing, after leaving a domestic violence situation. We offer program participants transitional housing, family and economic strengthening, case management, life-skills classes, job-readiness training, and cultural/farm-based activities to facilitate healing and community. I absolutely love my work, and using my education I want to expand and offer programs that focus on preventative mental health support for whole families as this will target underlying causes of family violence and substance abuse issues that cause families to break apart. This cause is full circle for me, as I once was a participant in this program. My children's father was my partner for 14 years. My ex-husband's alcoholism eventually led to domestic violence which resulted in me fleeing with our daughters to a local emergency shelter, and eventually the transitional housing program that I now work for. I remember desperately trying to find programs or therapy options in our community and even out of state to help keep our family together by getting us the help we needed. We didn't succeed and the court system never mandated any treatment or supportive programs for my children's father. I would love for my daughters to spend more time with their father; however, it is still unsafe. I wish programs or legal policy existed to help families like ours - families that want help, can't afford/access it, and ultimately succumb and break, due to the impact of mental struggle or illness. I want to create and provide programs that help support, treat, and prevent family trauma which will result in uplifting and strengthening the community along with future generations. I want to use a model similar to the one used at my work, but with a heavier emphasis on use of culture, traditional sustainability skills (fishing, hunting, farming), and faith as a protective factors and therapeutic methods. My current barrier is that I do not qualify for financial aid assistance or private loans. I am a single mother of 2, working a full-time and 2nd or 3rd part-time jobs along with full-time school. I struggle to make enough to pay for my education without overworking myself. When I do work 80+ hours a week I don't have the time for schoolwork and to care for my children. I hope for support from scholarship like yours to move forward and pour back into my family, my work, and my community. Thank you for taking the time to read my essay and for all you do for low-income students trying to achieve their dreams and better the communities across the nation.

Aloha to the caring folks at Robert F. Lawson Fund for Careers That Care. My name is Natalia Barboza and I reside on Maui. I am in the Social Work program at University of Hawaii at Manoa. I am a single mother of 2 wonderful teen daughters. I also work full-time as a caseworker for a local non-profit organization, The Maui Farm, that serves women and their children that are experiencing homelessness (or at risk of homelessness) due to leaving a domestic violence situation. Our program provides family strengthening using 'aina(land)-based and cultural activities on our campus, while providing transitional housing and on-site case management. I absolutely love my work as a case manager at The Maui Farm as it combines many fulfilling aspects that I feel are essential to healing, strengthening, and uplifting my community. These aspects include using ag/horticulture, ethnobotany, culture, community building, group counseling, and financial/economic empowerment education to provide a wrap-around transformative and therapeutic experience. I believe these components could transform families as a whole (we need to uplift men too), and I would love to expand on this in my future career. Culture has been shown to be a protective factor against trauma and the negative impacts of trauma. Integrating culture and traditional land & plant uses or activities can bring a strong and positive sense of identity, belonging, purpose, community, and contribution for individuals and families. I would want to create a a long term, affordable, therapeutic community program that creates connection to cultural roots and community and supports long-term health and sustainability for community members. Program participants would work together to learn and use traditional practices to promote wellbeing through cultural connection, food security, nutrition, plant medicine, arts and trades, conflict resolution, physical activity/health, and more. Part of my program would include purchasing land and creating affordable communities with more traditional community involvement and goals (community garden and taro patches, community hunting education on food provision, community house construction and repair, etc) along with a modern focus on consistent mental health check ins for all community members. Through my studies toward a Bachelors Degree in Social Work with a minor in Psychology, I will pour back into the organization I work for, my family, my friends, and my community. I will continue in my studies, ideally attaining a dual Masters Degree in Social Work and Juris Doctor, which will help me to support my community through larger scale advocacy and policy/funding movement. I also plan to become licensed clinical social worker and therapist to provide further supportive services to families in my current or future workplaces. I hope to expand or start new non-profit/community programs to better support gaps in our network and prioritize local families and marginalized communities! Mahalo nui for taking the time to read about me and my plans for making a positive impact.

Aloha to you folk(s) at Ethel Hayes Destigmatization of Mental Health Scholarship, My name is Natalia Barboza, and I write to you from the upcountry slopes of Maui, Hawai'i. I am pursuing my Bachelor of Social Work, and minor in Psychology, at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I currently work as a case manager for a small non-profit that helps local mothers and their children experiencing homelessness to become economically empowered, and find housing, after leaving a domestic violence situation. We offer program participants transitional housing, family and economic strengthening, case management, life-skills classes, job-readiness training, and cultural/farm-based activities to facilitate healing and community. I absolutely love my work, and using my education I want to expand and offer programs that focus on preventative mental health support for whole families as this will target underlying causes of family violence and substance abuse issues that cause families to break apart. This cause is full circle for me, as I once was a participant in this program. My children's father was my partner for 14 years. My ex-husband's alcoholism eventually led to domestic violence which resulted in me fleeing with our daughters to a local emergency shelter, and eventually the transitional housing program that I now work for. I remember desperately trying to find programs or therapy options in our community and even out of state to help keep our family together by getting us the help we needed. We didn't succeed and the court system never mandated any treatment or supportive programs for my children's father. I would love for my daughters to spend more time with their father; however, it is still unsafe. I wish programs or legal policy existed to help families like ours - families that want help, can't afford/access it, and ultimately succumb and break, due to the impact of mental struggle or illness. I want to create and provide programs that help support, treat, and prevent family trauma which will result in uplifting and strengthening the community along with future generations. I want to use a model similar to the one used at my work, but with a heavier emphasis on use of culture, traditional sustainability skills (fishing, hunting, farming), and faith as a protective factors and therapeutic methods. Mahalo for all you do for current and future mental health workers across the nation. I pray for progress and success in our collective goal toward destigmatization and improved mental health support for all!