Sweetwater

# of Kids: 2 Previous Occupation: Unemployed Previous Wage: Unemployed Current Occupation: CNA, Cowboy Cares Current Wage: $2,427/month Ashley completed Climb's Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training.

“When I started Climb, I had just divorced and hadn’t worked in eight years. I was used to being supported all the time, so suddenly it was all on me. Everything was new and unknown. Climb was the best thing I ever did. The counseling helped teach me new and different ways to think—you realize how your brain goes to the negative and learn how to stop it. Our group all passed the state CNA certification test on the first try, and my score was a 96 percent! Now I can actually save money. I’m able to do those little things that I wasn’t before—like enroll my kids in gymnastics and buy them new school clothes. I’m not worried now about where I’m going to be. Climb went by so fast, but I feel like a different person than I was just five months ago.”

# of Kids: 3 Previous Occupation: Hospitality Aide, Sage View Care Center Previous Wage: $1,668/month Current Occupation: CNA/Central Supply/ Transports, Sage View Care Center Current Wage: $2,860/month Mary completed Climb's Certified Nursing Assistant training.

“Since Climb, I’ve been able to move up the ladder instead of working so hard and feeling like I’m not going anywhere. I didn’t have health insurance for any of my kids before, and my medical bills just went to collections. That was hard. I figured I was just doing the CNA training at Climb, but the counseling and support has really helped. Being in a room with all those other women helped me be more open with co-workers and showed me how to think before I talk. I’m now part of a management team, and these communication skills have been really important. I’m now one of the highest paid CNAs at work. My kids can get things they need for school, and I don’t have to beg, steal and borrow to make it happen for them. It’s just a great sense of accomplishment.”

# of Kids: 1 Previous Occupation: Unemployed Previous Wage: Unemployed Current Occupation: Aspen Mountain Medical Center Current Wage: $2,253/month Faith completed Climb's Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training.

“I always knew I wanted to be in the medical field, even since I was little. I had done well in school but got pregnant my senior year in high school, and that’s when my journey started. Thanks to Climb, I now have a job I never thought I’d be able to get. Climb gave me everything I needed to get me going in my career. In training, I read 200 pages a night and studied every day for the tests, which I passed on the first try. Now I’m learning to do very technical work as a scrub tech and love the intensity of surgery. I’m not scared of anything anymore and want to become an R.N.”