Belkis Sanchez moved from the Dominican Republic to Lynn in hopes of settling in, saving money, and sending for her 6 month old daughter Betsy. As a single parent, she took a sales job and started earning money, but once reunited with her baby, she needed childcare to continue working. Sitters were costing her hundreds of dollars a week; money in, money out. There were times her savings was so depleted they were near homelessness.

Belkis learned about LEO from a neighbor, and that conversation would plot her journey to success. At first, LEO was just a nurturing place where she could leave her child while she worked. As time went on, the LEO staff observed Belkis interacting with her own child and as a parent volunteer, and they saw potential in her.