Pawsperity

When 26-year-old Christine Banks was selected to the inaugural class of Pawsperity in 2016, she was a quiet, but strong, single mother seeking a better job—and a better future—for her two children.

In January 2018, Ashley found herself seven months pregnant, living in a homeless shelter with her two daughters. With $232 to her name and her husband awaiting sentencing for aggravated battery charges, her hopes and dreams for the family she always wanted were slipping away. To support her children, Ashley…

Annie knew she was willing to do what it took to work with dogs, her lifelong dream. Just like many other students, the power of the human-animal bond helped Annie graduate from Pawsperity’s extensive grooming program.

Surviving childhood trauma and the hardships of poverty and addiction can turn little things into big deals. For April, it was getting her personalized grooming scissors, a milestone for students at Pawsperity.