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<p>DALLAS TWP. &#8212; Misericordia University assembled an impressive array of experts and government officials for Wednesday&#8217;s Pathways out of Poverty conference on campus, but grad Asia Thompson put a deeply personal face on the notion at the heart of the all-day event: Helping single parents succeed.</p><p>A success story from Misericordia&#8217;s Women With Children program for single mothers, Thompson highlighted her struggles to a crowd in the Lemmond Theater: struggling to survive with two children on $400 a month sharing a mattress top as a bed, warmed by a space heater.</p><p>&#8220;The electricity was cut off. The hot water was cut off,&#8221; She recounted, &#8220;we spent every night in the car with the heat running.&#8221;</p><p>Things got so bad she remember her son asked &#8220;what happened to you?&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Where did my dreams break?&#8221; she asked herself at the time.</p><p>Then she got into the Misericordia program, providing housing and extensive support while women earn their college degrees. &#8220;When I moved to campus housing, It was the first moment of safety I had since seventh grade. Here I learned to have a dream, here I learned to have a voice.&#8221;</p><p>Wolf has proposed $5 million to support up to seven partnerships to implement similar programs for single parents. He recently toured Misericordia&#8217;s program and touted its success as one reason he is championing such efforts.</p><p>Wednesday&#8217;s conference, held in partnership with Aetna Better Health, included participation from state Department of Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller, Department of Education Secretary Pedro Rivera and Deputy Secretary/Commissioner of Post-Secondary and Higher Education Noe Ortega. Others who benefited from the university&#8217;s Women With Children program spoke as well, along with Misericordia President Tom Botzman and Aetna Better Health CEO Jason Rottman.</p><p>There was much talk of well-designed program with steady funding streams and the importance of putting oneself in the shoes of those being helped, but little could top stories like Thompson&#8217;s for effectiveness in getting the point across.</p><p>She recounted words she had written in a journal as a youngster describing her feelings: &#8220;Broke, alone, abused, scared, silent.&#8221; Then offered the new description of the self she sees after the help Misericordia afforded: &#8220;Mother, college graduate, advocate, volunteer lobbyist, part of a community, loud, vocal, and soon to be a lawyer.&#8221;</p><p>She praised the program that spanned her move from seemingly-insurmountable poverty to a legal career.</p><p>&#8220;I am the face of that bridge.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Misericordia University Women With Children program graduate Asia Thomson talks about her shift from homelessness with two children to the brink of becoming a lawyer during the school&#8217;s Pathways Out of Poverty Conference on Wednesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_20190522_140657.jpg</photo0><caption0>Misericordia University Women With Children program graduate Asia Thomson talks about her shift from homelessness with two children to the brink of becoming a lawyer during the school&#8217;s Pathways Out of Poverty Conference on Wednesday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Mark Guydish | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

From homeless to law school for Misericordia program grad