At just 23 years old, Samantha Ramirez-Mason has already experienced a lot of joy, heartache, and fear in her young life. Joy at the birth of her beautiful, bubbly daughter Alizae. Heartache at the dissolution of her relationship with Alizae’s father just three months after her birth. And fear about how she would take care of her baby, now a very joyful and busy 18-month-old, on her own.
One thing that Samantha has going for her is the wisdom to seek help to best serve her little family. That’s where MOMentum comes in. Samantha explains she first learned of MOMentum’s ride-to-work program while receiving parenting support services at Child Saving Institute (CSI). With no means of reliable transportation to and from her long-time job at Taco Bell, and with the added difficulty of no bus service near Alizae’s affordable daycare, she was at a loss until she learned about this critical program that has helped ease the burden.
Samantha and Alizae live with a friend’s parents who allow them to share a room in their home. Still the bills mount up. “I don’t make much money and I don’t get any financial help from Alizae’s dad,” she explains. “Everything I need to take care of her comes out of my pocket. It is really hard out here as a single mom—and I certainly can’t afford to take Uber—so getting a ride to and from daycare and my work means everything to me.”
Each week, Monday through Thursday, MOMentum lead driver Brandi picks the two of them up at their home. After buckling Alizae safely into a car seat, Brandi first drives them to the childcare and then takes Samantha to work. At the end of the day, Samantha looks forward to finding the ever-friendly afternoon driver, Tammie, already waiting for her in the parking lot at 5 p.m. “I do love how they’re very consistent and work very hard to make it happen for us,” she says. “If moms are really working hard for their families, they will do everything in their power to help us.” She adds that this reliable, low-cost service is also allowing her to save up for the purchase of another vehicle after her other car quit a few months ago.
In the coming weeks, Samantha is looking forward to starting the new, better-paying job she’s been offered. Until then, she is grateful for the ride-to-work program and how it has eased some of the worry of being a single parent. “MOMentum is made up of very sweet people,” she says. “Me and my daughter are very well cared for, and it’s really been saving my butt since I’ve been using them.”
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