A single conversation changed Yvett’s future.
After losing her job at an Amazon warehouse, Yvett began worrying about how she would support her family.
“I started to stress about everything,” she said. “How was I going to pay rent? Was I going to lose my housing? Lose my car?”
Just weeks earlier, Yvett had moved into National CORE‘s Citrus Grove affordable housing community. Knowing she needed a job, leasing agent Gabrielle Marmolejo reached out with information about Hope through Housing’s free CORE Academy property management training program.
“It took me by surprise that someone in the leasing office thought about me,” Yvett said. “She opened the door, and it was up to me to walk through it.”
Yvett attended an informational meeting, where she learned only 12 people would be selected for the training cohort.
Determined to earn a spot, she repeatedly followed up with Hope through Housing Career Training Specialist Rebecca Glidden while waiting to hear if she had been accepted.
Her persistence paid off. In February, she was accepted into the program.
Launched by Hope through Housing in 2022, CORE Academy offers free career training in property management, property maintenance, social media marketing, studio management and production management.
From the first day of class, instructor Angel Rogers challenged participants to treat every class like a job interview.
“She was watching us,” Yvett said. “If we were on time, how we dressed, if we left early. She was preparing us because recruiters were coming.”
Yvett took that lesson to heart.
“If you’re not taking it seriously, they’re not going to take you seriously,” she said.
At graduation, recruiters met one-on-one with participants to discuss career opportunities. Yvett accepted a temporary leasing consultant position at Legends at Rancho Belago in Moreno Valley through Career Strategies.
She approached the role the same way she approached CORE Academy, asking questions, seeking guidance and showing up ready to learn.
“My manager told me, ‘I don’t care that you don’t know anything, but you show up,'” Yvett said.
Just a few months later, her manager greeted her with a packet waiting on her desk.
Inside was a full-time job offer.
“I feel accomplished,” Yvett said.
Today, Yvett helps other families find housing while building a stable future for her own.
Every payday reminds her how far she has come.
“I cry every time my paychecks come in,” Yvett said. “I’m so grateful, so thankful.”
The career has also given her the chance to provide more for her three children.
“I feel more at peace,” she said. “I definitely see my kids happier and that’s my main goal.”