Kanisha started her Our House journey as a team member in our out-of-school program, Our Club, as part of the AmeriCorps VISTA program, leading both theatre and dance with the youth. She had no idea that the program she helped develop would one day help her.
In 2015, as a new mom, Kanisha lost her job and fell on hard times. After some hesitation and with the encouragement of a former coworker, she signed up for CAFSI, our homeless prevention program. Kanisha’s daughter, Scarlet, was able to join Little Learners while Kanisha looked for a new job. Through her CAFSI case manager, Kanisha enrolled in the Goodwill Academy, where she graduated four months later with a certificate in Administrative Assistance and used her new skills to secure a new job!
While Scarlet remained a consistent member of our Children’s Programs (from the infant room to Our Club), Kanisha excelled in the workforce and continued to use her connections in the Career Center to land jobs at Heifer, then another job through the TEA Program with the Workforce Center. In addition to graduating from the CAFSI program, Kanisha is now settled into a job working as a transcriber for the City of Little Rock Police Department, where she has been for 2 years!
Even with her multiple degrees, Kanisha never imagined that one day the place where she worked would one day help her as a client. “Every time I fell in a hard place, Our House was always there for me. Our house staff was there to support me.” Kanisha has worked hard to maintain stability for her family, and even after six years, her and Scarlet are active members of the Our House community!
