Caressa's story

Circumstances that occurred in her mother’s life brought Caressa to Children’s Home Society of Florida when she was 15.

Though she lived on the CHS campus for only a year and a half before returning to her mother, Caressa remembers it fondly as a place that gave her the opportunity to do things she couldn’t have otherwise.

“My time at CHS was one of the best times of my life,” she says.

She credits CHS as a “much-needed life experience” that helped her become disciplined with schoolwork and realize the possibilities for her life were endless and goals were truly attainable.

Now 25, Caressa is a mother of a 2-year-old son, a full-time student at FCCJ studying both nursing and medical coding and billing, and works as a security officer in her apartment complex.

With all this on her plate, this enduring young lady is both graceful and gracious. She is determined to live life to the fullest and take care of her family, including her mom, whom she remains close with today.