Helping Others Heal: How One Woman’s Struggles Became Her Strength
When America Arevalo fills out a form, she writes “job coach” in the section labeled “Occupation.” Not so long ago, she was writing “unemployed.”
Before she started with AARP Foundation’s BACK TO WORK 50+ program at Youth Co-Op Inc. in Miami, she was a client like the ones she supports now: over 50, barely making ends meet, and struggling to find a job.
She arrived in Orlando, Florida, from Venezuela in 1998, with her now ex-husband and her young daughters in tow. “At first it was very hard, since I hadn’t completed any education past high school in Venezuela,” she says.
After divorcing in 2004, America did the best she could as a single mother. She spent more than a decade as a social worker, supporting children with developmental delays. Eventually, the work wore her down. “I dealt with a lot of kids with serious challenges. It took a toll on me,” she says.
When an opportunity arose to apply for a position as a flight attendant, she went for it, but the training proved to be too much for her, both physically and mentally. She made the difficult decision to quit.
America had left her social work job to begin the flight attendant training, and now she had no source of income. Her savings ran out after a few months, including her 401(k). She was forced to short-sell her house and live out of a friend’s trailer — and, eventually, her car.
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