Edna Martin Brings Financial Stability and Sense of Community to Those Who Need it Most
Working two jobs, going to school, wanting to start a business, all while raising two children sounds like an uphill battle. But for someone with the determination and work ethic like Brianna Bible, it was a battle she was ready to face - and she wouldn’t be facing it alone.
After completing United Way’s Great Families 2020 program, Brianna joined the Martindale-Brightwood Education Zone (MBEZ) as a Micro-Enterprise staff member. MBEZ is a program that focuses on improving the educational development and academic outcomes of children and provide support for parents raising their children in the neighborhood.
“MBEZ pushes me further with my financial growth and my professional growth,” Bible said. “It helps me be a better parent and engage with the community.”
Within this program, Brianna found a fighting partner, and its name was Edna Martin Christian Center.
“Before I found Edna Martin, I didn’t have any family support, any friend support—so they definitely gave me the support I needed,” Bible said. “They gave me the guidance I needed to start a new business. They gave me all the resources I needed.”
For more than 70 years, Edna Martin has provided education pathways for members of the community – so that individuals and families have everything they need to learn, live, work, and play in a peaceful, connected and thriving environment.
Edna Martin connected Brianna with a case coach who helped her obtain resources for basic needs and financial stability.
“As a case coach, you have to make sure the client is in the driver’s seat,” said Taquasha Manns, Director of 2Gen at the Edna Martin Christian Center. “They know what works for them, they know what they need and Brianna did come with that. What she needed was the extra pushes of ‘you got this’ and ‘you can do it’.”
Today, with a lot of self-determination, Brianna is a licensed esthetician and a certified lash artist in her own neighborhood of Brightwood. But it was Edna Martin that gave her the resources and the confidence to successfully thrive in her own community.
“This is my support system,” Bible said. “I feel part of the Edna Martin Center, I do not feel like a stranger. I feel part of the community, I feel like I am part of what’s going on.”