For all life’s blessings

Eron Ben-Yehuda

For someone who has struggled so much in life, Shelley Wilt can’t

understand why anyone wouldn’t give thanks today for the simple

pleasures.

“It’s not important what car you drive or what area in the world you live

in,” the Huntington Beach woman said.

As she sits down to Thanksgiving dinner, she’ll be grateful for her

health, home, education, the love of family and friends, and most of all,

her little boy, Drake.

“I cannot imagine my life without him,” she said.

The 22-year-old Huntington Beach native, who works and goes to school

while raising Drake, is a single mother. There’s very little peace and

quiet in Wilt’s life. But she said she doesn’t sit around feeling sorry

for herself.

“It’s not hard,” she said matter-of-factly. “It’s what I’m doing.”

Drake, who will turn 3 in January, can be a handful, especially when he

gets a little rambunctious. But that suits her just fine.

“I prefer him to be kind of outgoing [rather] than one of those kids who

are wrapped around your leg,” she said.

As she dresses him for a romp in the park, he argues with her about what

clothes flatter him most.

“He won’t wear anything unless you tell him it’s cool,” she said.

They finally settle on an outfit.

“I’m not cute. I’m cool,” he says with satisfaction.

On a typical day, after dropping off Drake at a day-care center, Wilt

heads to Irvine Valley College, where she is studying to become a teacher

while earning money recruiting tutors to help children with learning

disabilities.

The Edison High School graduate understands what kids are going through

because she’s been there herself.

Growing up, Wilt was belittled because she had difficulty reading, which

slowed her progress at school.

“I finally just one day decided not to listen to people who said I wasn’t

book-smart,” she said.

Wilt still has trouble reading, but she doesn’t give up even though she

sometimes feels like throwing the school books out the window, she said.

Despite her best efforts, Wilt had trouble making ends meet, so she

turned to Project Self-Sufficiency two years ago.

The program at Huntington Beach City Hall, using government funds and

private donations, helps single parents by offering a wide range of

services, including education, job training, counseling, child care and

housing, assistant case manager Sandy McNally said.

McNally met Wilt at a church function and thought she’d make a great

candidate for the program.

“If I had a child at her age, I wouldn’t have been able to handle it as

gracefully as Shelley did,” she said.

Before entering the program, Wilt could only afford to rent a room for

herself and her son.

But with subsidies from Project Self-Sufficiency, she moved into an

apartment.

“I think this place has made a huge difference in my life,” she said.

With the program’s help, in addition to money she receives from work,

grants and scholarships, Wilt has the opportunity to fulfill her dreams.

She hopes one day to own a house and be financially independent,

especially for Drake, she said.

“I don’t want him to be without and feel that he can’t have whatever he

wants and needs.”

Until that moment arrives, she “keeps on keeping on,” as McNally said.

“She’s just one who I know is going to make it,’ McNally said.

And no matter happens, Wilt said, she will always be thankful.