She could have given up.

With four kids to support, 36-year old Miranda Mojica could have stopped trying and relied entirely on help from government agencies to survive, but she didn't.

Instead, Mojica turned to the Parent Empowerment Program, an operation of the Catholic Charities of Lubbock, to make it through school, helping her to become self-sufficient.

"It's pretty sad that we live in a society where they teach you that if you don't work that you can get more benefits, and you can get Medicaid and food stamps, and all of these things," she said. "I went through the entire two-year (Parent Empowerment Program) without any of it, but if it wouldn't have been for the program there would have been no way that I could have done it."

Mojica graduated as a registered nurse last year and is working at a Lubbock hospital.

The program that helped her was created to provide support combined with financial assistance to help parents make ends meet while in school.

"It is just those little things that the program does that makes a complete difference in people's lives. It really is amazing," Mojica said.

From housing assistance to purchasing textbooks, the program's aim is to help Lubbock residents transition out of poverty, spokeswoman Sabrina Robbins said.

"We can help with partial rent. We don't pay anyone's full rent or anything, we can help with utility assistance, but we help a lot with textbooks," Robbins said. "The average first semester nursing textbooks are about $800."

The program's funding is based on a grant dedicated to helping impoverished families, and, at its meeting today, Feb. 13, the Lubbock City Council will consider renewing a contract with Catholic Charities to continue the efforts of the program.

Essentially, the grant is given to the city who then subcontracts the work out.

"It's more just a transfer of funds, it is a movement of money," Mayor Glen Robertson said. "A lot of times we get money from grants and Catholic Family Services will administer those funds for us."

In this case, the organization "fronts" the money and is repaid through the grant, Robbins said.

Between 1996 and 2011, the program transitioned 1,303 people out of poverty, and helped more than 100 last year, but decreases in funding have slowed the process, Robbins said.

At no fault of the city or the program, federal spending cuts have trickled down and are slowing the program's enrollment.

There is always a waiting list, and while Robbins said she would like to enroll more, there isn't always enough funding.

In order to be eligible, students must be enrolled full-time, have a child living with them, be considered a resident of Lubbock County and meet government poverty guidelines, Robbins said.

The program lasts a maximum of two years, and students are required to maintain certain grade point averages to continue. For more information on the Parent Empowerment Program, go to www.cclubbock.org/parentempowerment.html.

rs.douglas@lubbockonline.com

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