SAN ANTONIO — Melania Garcia Cruz has been in and out of foster homes her entire life.
“After I turned 18 my foster mom kicked me out of the house and I didn’t really have anywhere else to go,” Cruz said.
After being homeless for about a month, her future seemed unclear until she says a life coach helped her get into the Roy Mass Youth Alternatives Turning Point program.
“I feel more like myself, like I can do my own things and I don’t have to rely on somebody else,” Cruz said.
The Turning Point program was started in 1999 to help young adults who have aged out of the foster care system. The program has helped put a roof over the heads of at least 900 young adults since it was started.
Cruz is the most recent beneficiary.
“It’s a really nice house, I don’t know it’s a little overwhelming,” Cruz said.
She calls it her second chance in life, and this helps make it a little easier for the aspiring theater teacher to figure out.
“It really teaches me adulthood and what to expect, and how to take care of myself so whenever it’s time for me to actually be on my own I’m prepared and I can do anything,” Cruz said.