Khristan wasn’t sure what her future would hold. Couch-surfing halfway through her bachelor’s program at the University of Texas at San Antonio, balancing her studies while also working to be able to afford safe housing felt impossible.

When she found United Way Safety Net Impact Partner, THRU Project, she was connected to a mentor and other critical resources aimed at preparing youth with a history of foster care for life as adults. Through this United Way partner, Khristan found safe, reliable housing she could call her own. With a more stable foundation, she successfully earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology.

After graduating, Khristan is now giving back to San Antonio’s youth in her new role with THRU Project. She helps train and match individuals who will serve as mentors to youth with lived experience in foster care. A former recipient of this service, Khristan’s personal insight is invaluable to the organization, the mentors and the children they serve.

“It’s so rewarding,” Khristan says. “It just feels nice to make that complete circle from being a participant and now helping participants. I’ve even had some of them tell me that hearing my story gives them skills and that it makes them hopeful for themselves,” she added.

She says that while training mentors, she is often told by new mentors that her story of perseverance motivates them because she represents a successful outcome of the mentorship program.

Her unique perspective drives her desire to find “the perfect match.”

“Sometimes I tell myself I might be taking too long, trying to make the perfect match, but I try to do the best I can to make sure it’s a mentorship, that they are compatible. Every time I hear a mentor come to me and tell me good stories that they have with their mentees, or vice versa, it just makes me so happy,” Khristan says.

She says she is grateful to be able to support young people the same way she was supported all those years ago through United Way’s Safety Net Impact Area. Safety Net provides emergency services to people in crisis by meeting their most urgent needs like safe housing. Without a safety net of social services to offer stability in times of unexpected change, individuals like Khristan are at risk of having their careers, education, health and safety impacted. Safety Net programs provide an individual’s basic needs and then connect them to other programs that will improve their personal stability.

Khristan confesses that before she discovered support that she was “just ready to give up.” She appreciates being able to tell others today that she has been in their shoes before and personify the success one can have when they “keep pushing through.”

“It was getting too hard to not have a place of my own, it was really hard to try to stay focused on school,” she says. “I honestly can’t really imagine where I would be. I might not have finished school, taken a break, not gone back or still be in school right now. That was a big milestone for me that validated my dreams,” she added.

Khristan is a shining example of when a community comes together to lend a helping hand to people in need, those individuals can achieve their dreams. They also become advocates for change in the community and can give back to the next generation of San Antonio residents just like Khristan is doing today.

You can watch Khristan’s 2023 United Way Campaign Video at this link.