Abril’s Story
Abril graduated from Florence Crittenton High School in May 2023. A few months later, Abril made two decisions that would set the next chapter of her life into motion – she ended a five-year relationship with the abusive father of her children, Reuben, 4, and Lenin, 3, and moved into Warren Village at First Step. “I could either stay with him and depend on him until my kids grew up, but I would never get my happy ending, or I could leave right now and we could try to co-parent,” she remembers. Abril didn’t want her kids to grow up with separated parents, and she didn’t want her kids’ father to be deported because he was undocumented. She had experienced both of these things as a child herself. But she had also watched her mother endure abuse from her father. That day she moved into First Step, she started to break the cycle of generational trauma and fear.
The First Step program is designed to meet the specific, and often very immediate, needs of young mothers. For Abril, First Step provides a community of support and resources. ” Living here, I don’t feel so alone, because everybody’s kind of going through the same thing,” she says. “We’re all here because we don’t have anywhere else to go. So it makes me feel like I’m being seen, and we can all be there for each other.” This fall, First Step is expanding its program offerings and requirements to meet the ever-changing landscape of affordable and stable housing in Denver. Now First Step will include a wider array of enrichment services and career planning opportunities. These pathways include both education achievements and other economic mobility strategies, such as entrepreneurship, recognizing the diverse needs of the families we serve. Program Manager Angelica Poventud has seen firsthand how the program positively impacts the lives of residents. “Abril’s situation underscores the importance of providing a supportive housing environment where residents can pursue economic stability and overcome systemic barriers,” says Angelica. “Our mission is to offer families the resources they need to achieve economic mobility and disrupt cycles of poverty, ensuring that they can build secure and successful futures.”
Since August 2023, Abril has accomplished an incredible list of things with the support of First Step staff. She got a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend after he continued to physically abuse her, and officially began her journey as a single mom. She started therapy and began to navigate a diagnosis of PTSD. She got her Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN), a key piece of information for an undocumented citizen like herself. She enrolled in an esthetics program at Lash and Company Education with a full-ride scholarship from the Cielo Foundation to cover her entire program. Six months later, she completed the program and graduated with her esthetician certificate.
“In my whole life, I never felt like I fit in because of my status and because of my looks, and for once I felt like I fit in [at esthetician school],” Abril reflects. “I was doing something for myself and the future and the kids, and I was just so excited to learn and to be there.” Abril is waiting for her U visa green card to arrive in the mail, a major milestone after living in the United States without documentation nearly her entire life. This marks the first time in Abril’s life that she has legal status in the only country she has ever known.
“It feels so surreal. It feels like I finally have a chance to start a life here, because I’m not scared anymore,” says Abril. “Now I have security. That’s what I wanted my whole life, and I thought that I only had it with the father of my kids. Then I came to First Step. Here, they made me push myself. They opened my eyes. I never thought I was capable of doing anything until I came here. Before this, I did not even have a passport. I didn’t have an ID. I didn’t have the ITIN to enroll in more school. I didn’t have a bank account, my license, or a car. When I came here, I had nothing.“
What’s next for this determined young woman? Abril was chosen to receive one of First Step’s two low-income housing vouchers. She is waiting for space to open up in one of her three preferred apartment buildings. She is excited to get her driver’s license and to begin working as an esthetician this fall. First Step staff has supported Abril through every part of this journey, connecting her to vital resources like an immigration lawyer and nurturing her potential.
Today, Abril knows what it feels like to conquer her fears. She knows that she deserves to live without dread hanging over her. She knows what it feels like to have the support of a community behind her at First Step and to feel like she belongs no matter what she looks like or the status of her citizenship status, thanks to her classmates at Lash and Company Education. She is ready for the future.
