ENDURING TRANSFORMATION: DOLLY

Dolly’s childhood was not easy. Four of her five older brothers were gang members, who spent most of their lives cycling in and out of jail. Drugs and street violence were normal and all that she ever knew.

“Growing up, I had no hope,” explains Dolly. She recalls one Fourth of July weekend, when things went from bad to worse for her family. “My brother was a shooting victim and I had to go with my father to identify his body. I sat there crying and through my tears, I wondered why my family had to go through this? It felt like my world was coming to an end.”

“I sat there crying and through my tears, I wondered why my family had to go through this?”

Despite all of this, Dolly still managed to graduate high school—the only one in her family to do so. Soon after graduating, she had her first child and that’s when she started to find meaning in her life. Dolly dreamed that one day she would be able to give her child everything that she had always wished for.

A friend told Dolly about Taller San Jose. She enrolled in their administrative medical and billing program, hoping to build a future in the healthcare field. Since January, 2015, Dolly has been working as a medical assistant for a local healthcare clinic, earning $13.83 per hour and receiving full health benefits.

Read Michelle’s story, another example of enduring transformation »