Robert: Extra Mile Homes Changed Everything

Robert was working a temp job to keep himself and his son, Antonio, in a hotel when we first met them in 2020. On the days he didn't have the funds to keep a roof over their heads, he would drive Antonio to his grandmother's place while he would sleep in the car.

Robert had saved enough to get back into a hotel room after a brief stint in the car when he called Love Columbia, worried he wouldn't be able to make it until his next paycheck.

At the same time, an Extra Mile Home had recently become vacant. He and his son moved into the home, and Robert began Extra Mile's financial coaching program. In addition to budget coaching, he received the support to obtain identification documents and his CDL permit, which led to him getting hired full-time through the City of Columbia.

He says of his Extra Mile coach, "Patrick gave me the knowledge, structure and instructions I needed... and ever since then, my life started going uphill because of the program."

This July, we celebrated Robert for reaching several more milestones:

• His credit score went up 120 points

• He's been working the Extra Mile program every day on his own

• He's at the highest level at his job (Senior Coordinator with City of Columbia), and he is in charge of his own route

• He is a spokesman for solid waste department at the union