There is Strength in Seeking Support
Skylar is a mom, a teacher, and a basketball coach. Every day, she shows the young people around her what it looks like to work hard and never stop reaching for more. But there is something else she wants them to understand just as deeply: asking for help is not a weakness. It is one of the bravest things you can do.
After graduating in 2004, Skylar earned her cosmetology license and built a career as a hairstylist, but teaching was always the dream. Even while doing hair, she took on long-term substitute teaching positions, drawn to the classroom and the chance to make a difference. In 2008, she became a mother, and like many single parents, she found herself balancing responsibility, ambition, and uncertainty. For several years, she lived with her mother, but eventually reached a moment where she knew she needed to build independence for herself and her daughter. That decision led Skylar to consider housing assistance, not as a long-term solution, but as a way to create a stable foundation to grow from.
Choosing a New Beginning
Moving into independence as a single mother was both exciting and overwhelming. Skylar remembers carefully thinking through what it would take and realizing she could not do it alone. After talking with others and learning about available resources, she made the decision to apply for housing assistance.
For Skylar, housing assistance was not just a place to live. It was breathing room. It meant she could stop worrying about whether she and her daughter would have a roof over their heads and start focusing on what came next.
Holding On to Dreams While Building Stability
Even while navigating work and motherhood, Skylar never let go of her long-held dream of becoming a teacher. While working in cosmetology and raising her daughter, she made the decision to return to school at Mary Baldwin University. She balanced night classes, work, and parenting. Through it all, Skylar remained focused on the example she wanted to set for her daughter. Demonstrating what perseverance looks like, even when life is demanding and progress can seem slow.
“I want my daughter to know that you need to finish what you start,” she said. “Especially if that’s a dream you have.”
Support That Creates Space to Grow
During this season, housing assistance played an important role in helping Skylar stay steady while pursuing education and work. It reduced the constant pressure of survival and created space to focus on long-term goals.
Through WRHA's Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program, Skylar enrolled in a five-year voluntary program designed to help residents reach personal and financial goals. As her income grew and her rent adjusted, the difference was placed into an escrow account. Upon successful completion, that escrow became a launching pad.
"I used that to help me with school, pay for classes, buy some things for my apartment, for my daughter," she says. The FSS program did not just help Skylar survive. It helped her invest in the future she was building.
A Life Built Through Persistence and Support
What stands out most about Skylar's experience with WRHA is the relationship, not just the resource. "They were not just there to write a number and sign a check," she says. "They help set people up for success."
A Future Built on Her Own Terms
Today, Skylar is living proof of what happens when persistence meets the right support at the right time. She bought a house last October. She is getting married this fall. Together with her partner, they are building a blended family of four kids. And she is still coaching basketball, still teaching, still showing young people what it looks like to keep going.
"Don't be afraid to ask for help," she says. "Failure is not the end."
If you or someone you know could benefit from stable, affordable housing or wants to learn more about programs like FSS, help is available. Learn more at https://www.wrha.org/family-self-sufficiency-program and take the first step toward building something lasting.
Resources
Virginia Department of Labor and Industry “Virginia Minimun Wage Rate Increasing Effective January 1, 2026”
MIT Living Wage Calculator, Virginia Econimic Policy Institue “EPI’s updated Family Budget Calculator shows that states like Virginia need a higher minimum wage”
The Commonwealth Institue “$12 is Not Enough - Virginia Policymakers Must Act on the Minimum Wage”
National College Attainment Network “Protect Pell”
CNBC “How Much Child Care Costs kn Every U.S. State”
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Table 330.10 and College Board Trends in Student Aid
College Board “Trends in College Pricing”
Federal Student Aid “How much money can I get from a Federal Pell Grant?”
