Overcoming Obstacles: Your Support Helps Young Adults Like Bianca Enter the Workforce

Hope Builders exists to help young adults overcome obstacles to entering the workforce. One of the most common barriers our trainees face is transportation. Without a driver’s license and a reliable vehicle, a young person’s job opportunities are limited to locations in their immediate neighborhood or accessible by public transit, and where transportation is not a requirement for the role.

Through targeted transportation support, Hope Builders fosters long-term self-sufficiency and access to opportunity. Services include connecting trainees to driver’s education courses, one-on-one coaching for permit and license tests, and creating a financial plan to save for a first vehicle and ongoing transportation costs. By providing this support, Hope Builders empowers youth to secure upwardly mobile jobs that require reliable transportation, significantly opening up the range of job opportunities available in the construction and healthcare fields.

Since January, Hope Builders has provided driver’s license support to 62 young adults, including Bianca, pictured above. A 24-year-old trainee in our Clinical Medical Assisiting (CMA) program, Bianca entered Hope Builders without a driver’s permit and with a deep fear of driving. She had survived a traumatic car accident and ever since, the thought of driving filled her with anxiety.

When Bianca confided in her Support Specialist about this event, we knew we had an opportunity to help her reclaim a part of her independence. Through one-on-one emotional support, a driver’s permit preparation course, and coping strategies to reduce anxiety, Bianca began to rebuild her confidence.

Hope Builders then arranged for multiple behind-the-wheel lessons tailored to her comfort level, and even covered the cost for an instructor to accompany her to the DMV when she didn’t have access to a car for her test. With determination and support, Bianca passed her driver’s test.

Today, Bianca has completed her externship and accepted a job offer. She recently shared “Earning my driver’s license not only gave me the freedom to get to work—it transformed how I see myself. Today, I know I’m  capable of anything!”