Esther's Story

Esther left home when she was seventeen, going to stay with her grandma in Chicago, then finding herself entirely on her own when she turned nineteen. She was couch hopping in and out of different friends' places, sometimes having more stability than others; she refers to that time period as just "more couches, more hopping." Esther is now twenty-four years old.

Esther found what she thought was some stability in a relationship and had her daughter. However, two years ago, she left due to domestic violence and once again was couch hopping, this time with her four-year-old daughter. When she couldn't find friends places, she scraped together shelter and hotel stays to avoid being on the streets. At Wildflyer, 55% of youth who worked for us in 2023 identified that domestic violence was the main event that led to them becoming homeless.  This is an all too common situation for youth already experiencing such instability

Seeking help, Esther visited a church, where they connected her with Hennepin County and her case manager, Liz, from the Link, one of Wildflyer's housing partners. Liz helped her get on a waitlist for housing and introduced her to Wildflyer. After several months of couch hopping, staying in hotels, and waiting eagerly, Esther was placed in a Transitional Living Program and began work at Wildflyer around the same time. 

Going from such instability to the stability and responsibility of a job and apartment simultaneously left Esther feeling a little overwhelmed, but she reported that Wildflyer's support helped. At first, she had difficulty being around so many people, feeling anxious in the stores. But she said Wildflyer helped her step outside her comfort zone, and "when I step outside my comfort zone, I tend to blossom." 

Nothing could be truer.

Esther loved her time at Wildflyer (and we loved having her); her favorite parts were working with the customers and making coffee. The budgeting class was less fun but just as helpful. She also shared that having people check on her felt great; mornings before her shift, she'd go into our Program Manager, Jupiter's office, and sit and talk with them. "It’s like a family at Wildflyer. I adore that. You don't get that even in most families nowadays". 
Esther graduated from our program in the fall, but we still see her around the shop. She wants to stay in coffee, but right now, she is also attending bartending school and loving that. But what's most important to her is to find volunteer work she can engage in. She wants to help people because "that's all I've seen at Wildflyer. No matter who I talked to, I received help, a whole lot of love, and I loved it. And I wanna do the same for people". Esther wants to make a difference, but she already is in a radical way.

“Parents aren’t perfect, but I’m trying to be better and not take my baby through the same things”

She's also keeping herself safe in relationships to show her daughter a different way. "I don't want those things for my daughter." She's proud she left her domestic violence situation and wants to make a better future.

Esther loves her new apartment and the neighborhood she lives in. She loves focusing less on survival and more on simply living, enjoying the little things like taking her daughter to the park and doing other activities.  

We're not sure what's next for Esther, but we know she'll keep being a cycle breaker and building a better life for herself and her daughter, and we feel honored to be on that journey with her.