Life through her eyes: An update on 2 local moms and where JOBS program stands

So much can happen in one year.

In August 2022, the Akron Beacon Journal began following Terah Coleman, 41, and Jasmine Kirk, 22, to see life in Greater Akron through the eyes of mothers who are facing — and overcoming — many challenges.

After five months of home visits, children’s soccer games and cooking classes, the Beacon Journal published a series in January 2023 about the two mothers and the culinary program they were participating in run by Jump On Board for Success (JOBS).

The nonprofit organization in Kenmore provided young and at-risk mothers with free job skills training to help them achieve career-focused employment and self-sufficiency.

The Beacon Journal decided to check in on Coleman, Kirk and the JOBS program nearly a year later to see how they are doing. Here’s what we found out.

No longer a program, but still a family

The board of directors that oversaw the JOBS program decided to dissolve the organization at the end of September because participants' outcomes did not meet their expectations. The directors also determined there were not sufficient resources to restructure and grow the organization in ways that would positively impact those outcomes.

Classes in session when the decision was made were permitted to continue until their originally scheduled conclusion, the latest of which ended the second week of October.

The program has had about 250 participants since it was founded by Karen Lile in 2014.

Initially, Lile taught cosmetology to students in First Glance’s teen mom program. At the time of its demise, the program offered hands-on courses in culinary arts, early childhood education, business administration, entrepreneurialism and information technology under Executive Director Jennifer Herrick.

Former JOBS Executive Director Herrick recommends women turn to other local organizations such as First Glance’s Ladies Night Out or The Connect programs for a sense of community and The Well CDC to aid with career development.

“The group of girls that we just graduated are so good, and they're so motivated,” she said. “Even though we're closing, I'm hoping, by referring them to other organizations, that they'll continue to grow and build [the] networking in those communities that they need to do.”

JOBS' last get together was a Thanksmas Celebration Dec. 2 at Goss Memorial Church. During the event, children of participants and mentors were running here, there and everywhere while their parents fixed plates of food and music blared from the DJ table. There was joking and reminiscing at every table.

Despite the program’s expiration, it was clear that a family was forged from its creation.

“[We] don't want the girls to feel like we're abandoning them,” Herrick said. “What I told the staff is the organization may be closed, but we are not closed to anybody. If they need anything, we will help them figure out where to get resources and stuff like that.”

One foot in front of the other for Terah Coleman

Life has been a series of peaks and valleys for Coleman this year.

Her daughter, Aliyah, who is now 6, has progressed to a half orange belt in karate.

Coleman’s father, Charles, died in early February.

Aliyah has not visited an urgent care or needed to be hospitalized — a big accomplishment for a child plagued by medical emergencies since birth and diagnosed with asthma, autism and ADHD.

Coleman fractured two of her toes while playing with Aliyah around Memorial Day, so she was in a full walking boot for two months. Two weeks after the incident, she had to get rid of her barely drivable 2004 Dodge Caravan and began walking to school with her daughter and to work each day.

But there have been some silver linings since the series was published in late January.

The Showers Family Foundation, having history with Akron Children’s Hospital and special needs children, was particularly touched by the Colemans’ story. The main concerns were getting the family a reliable car and access to electricity so that Aliyah could use a nebulizer for her breathing treatments.

“An outsider would most of the time look at it and say, ‘Hey, she lives in a nice apartment’ because it was in Green, so it was a very safe, nice area,” said Frankie Martina, a board member for the Showers Family Foundation. “However, I would see that as a struggle for her because if she did live in Akron, she would have more access to public transit and she would be in a more of a walkable city, but to be safer she's in Green for her daughter, and that's great. You look at one thing and say, ‘Hey, she lives in a nice apartment,’ but you don't understand that that presents a whole new struggle for her that you and I on a day-to-day basis probably wouldn't think about.”

Since being connected with Coleman, the foundation cleared the balance on her Ohio Edison account, totaling around $2,000. It also paid the $700 in fines associated with Coleman's driver’s license, which allowed the mom to renew her license.

More recently, the foundation donated about $6,000 to the GoFundMe page created by Coleman’s church to get her a new car. The combined funds provided Coleman with a car, insurance for the next year and some gift cards for gas.

“I don't know who's more proud of mom getting a car, mom or [Aliyah],” said Irma Messner, Coleman’s supervisor and a friend of the Showers family. “I mean, she’s like ‘This car ain't going to get dirty.’”

Nowadays, Coleman is working up to 25 hours at the church and continues to volunteer with enthusiasm, something that stood out to both Messner and Martina as they’ve gotten to know her.

“She always has a positive attitude,” Messner said. “She always has a smile on her face. She's like, ‘That's what we need to do. As bad as it gets,’ she goes, ‘I know it's going to be okay and there's times I couldn't say that.’”

Coleman is also preparing to enroll at Stark State in 2024. She hopes to have her transcripts gathered and a financial aid package finalized in time for spring semester but is willing to wait until fall if necessary. The mom plans to enroll in online courses and pursue the information technology degree that she began at Brown Mackie College.

Originally, Coleman had planned to start the JOBS IT program in October as a refresher before going back to college for the same subject. While Coleman was in class, Aliyah would have been looked after by JOBS's early childhood education program as part of their partnership with BrightStart Early Preschool. She was surprised and disappointed when Herrick gave her the news about the organization's closure.

"I was sick over it," Coleman explained. "I was excited [to start the program]. I had a way to get up there to the class and everything."

Another event on the horizon is re-enrolling Aliyah into karate, something she missed the latter half of this year because of a lack of transportation. Coleman is hopeful that her most recent six-month tuition payment to the martial arts school can be rolled over into the new year.

“As a friend and a sister to her, I'm excited to see where she's going,” Messner said. “She knows where she came from and she knows where she doesn't want to go back to, so she has goals. I'm excited to watch her check off her goals. We all are.”

Messner and the foundation will be sticking around to cheer Coleman on and provide mentorship and advocacy when needed. There is still so much unknown on the road ahead, but now Coleman and her daughter will be traversing it on four wheels instead of walking in the berm.

“A lot of people live on the streets or live in homes or wherever, give up,” Messner said. “She's not. She's fighting. She might be little, but I'll tell you right now, she's a fighter.”

Jasmine Kirk seeks new job for the new year

Things have remained largely the same for Kirk and her 4-year-old daughter, Luna.

One major difference is that Luna’s father is no longer living with them.

Another is that Kirk is now unemployed, though she has begun job hunting for full-time positions.

The mother-daughter duo still lives in Summit Lake and have hopes and dreams for the coming year.

Kirk would still like to get her driver's license and, at some point afterward, a car as well. She had planned on purchasing a vehicle earlier this year using her income tax refund but decided against it because she didn’t have her license yet.

“I really liked the thought of me having my own car, but then I was like, ‘What am I going to do in it?’" Kirk said jokingly. “When I want to pretend I know how to drive, What? Go take a picture on Snapchat?”

At the start of 2023, Kirk revealed that she wanted to conceive another child with Luna’s father in October, preferably another little girl named Kora. Kirk later decided against it after realizing that she would have to start from square one raising another child.

In fall of 2024, Kirk will be putting Luna in school, though it is unclear whether it will be preschool or kindergarten because the girl won’t turn 5 before Sept. 30.

Kirk believes her daughter could go straight into kindergarten, but to do that she would have to undergo an extensive screening process and assessment by psychologists and early childhood educators. About 1-2% of all children who start the process become eligible to skip preschool, according to APS psychologist Robert Kubick Jr.

So much has taken place in the Akron area these past 365 days, it’s anyone’s guess what the next year has in store for not just Kirk and Coleman – but for moms across the region.

Got a story recommendation? Contact Beacon Journal reporter Tawney Beans at tbeans@gannett.com and on Twitter @TawneyBeans. And follow her adventures on TikTok @akronbeaconjournal.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 2 Akron-area moms share their stories after JOBS program folds