[on school or agency letterhead]
October 12, 2011
Higher Education Services Corporation
99 Washington Avenue
Albany, New York 12255
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing regarding Jasmine Jones’s application for independent override for the Tuition Assistance Program. This is the second notarized letter I have sent to your office regarding Jasmine’s status as an independent student. The original letter was sent on April 30, 2011.
Jasmine is currently attending SUNY Albany. Her social security number is 123-45-6789.
As Jasmine’s counselor at Options, a free college counseling program of Goddard Riverside Community Center, I have been working intensely with her over the last six months. Through the counseling process I have come to know her family situation, as it would affect her ability to apply for financial aid. (I have also referred her to the social worker at our agency for additional support and information.) I will outline Jasmine’s situation as clearly as I can in this letter.
When Jasmine was born, in 1992, she was immediately taken in by her great-grandparents in Florida because her mother was unable to care for her. Jasmine lived with her great-grandparents until 2001, when she moved to New York City, at the age of nine. Her mother had since moved to NYC and decided she wanted Jasmine to live with her. At that point Jasmine mother had four children, though they had all been raised by other people. The oldest boy had been adopted by his aunt.
The reality has been, for Jasmine’s whole life her mother has not been her parent in the sense of taking responsibility for her. From the time she moved to NYC through her junior year in high school, Jasmine has struggled to find stability, safety, and support at home. But her mother’s ability to provide a stable homelife was completely impeded by the boyfriends she chose. Jasmine had different men living at home, the most recent one being the most troubling. His alcoholism affected the whole family. The worst behavior was his violent, verbal abusive of her mother. Jasmine has said it is no wonder that her brothers had trouble in school because there was no safe, quiet place to do homework.
When Jasmine was 17, in 2009, she knew that she could not survive any longer in the caustic environment of her mother’s apartment. She did not feel safe, nor could she attend to her schoolwork. To feel safe and positively motivated, she was forced to move out. She moved in with a close friend whose own mother was critically ill. Because the friend’s mother has been hospitalized for the last two years, the two girls have essentially taken care of each other. Their difficult life situations have brought out their inner strength.
Jasmine was worked with a social worker at Goddard Riverside to help deal with her situation and make sure she gets benefits she is entitled to so that she can survive. Financial aid is one of the processes we are working on with Jasmine.
Jasmine is one of the most mature, grounded young people I have met. While other teens would fall into trouble with the same pressures Jasmine faces, she stands strong and forward-thinking. I know she will do well in college–she has already had a successful summer EOP experience at SUNY Albany– and I look forward to hearing about her many successes down the road. Already she has succeeded in staying in high school, working many hours and applying to college. I applaud her. But she needs financial help to get through college. It is her biggest hurdle presently.
Please feel free to contact me with questions or concerns.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Annette Wright
Educational Counselor
Options Center
Goddard Riverside Community Center