We received some exciting news at Project Mona’s House. One of the women in our program got accepted into college!
This is a major step, and we want to recognize her dedicated effort to make it to such a milestone. Years ago, this woman was enrolled in college at a different institution. While in school, she became trafficked. Under the control of her trafficker, she was forced to drop her courses, and could not continue her education.
Because the woman was no longer taking courses, she began receiving notices about her student loans. The notices indicated that she would have to begin paying back her loans, which she was unable to do at the time. Despite the fact that she was being trafficked, life seemed to continue on, and the bills kept coming.
Eventually, after not making these payments, she was put into default. This was a devastating reality, but she was unable to explain her situation without the surveillance of her trafficker. When she later regained her freedom from her trafficker, she was determined to go back to school and continue her education.
This process was anything but easy. She had to work very hard to get out of the default with her loans. The woman began her own healing process, and eventually started to work and save her money. Since then, she is still paying off her loans, but is now out of the default status.
Because she is no longer in default, she has been able to take out additional loans, and apply for college once again. After this long application process, she had finally received her acceptance letter, and is looking forward to continuing her education in the future.
Photo: goldenstarnails.blogspot.com