Richard R RamosRichard R. Ramos. Founder of Parents on a Mission,Youth on a Mission, and Latino Coalition for Community Leadership

Taking the First Step: How Fanny Found Hope Through Garden Pathways Mentoring

23 Aug 2026 · 1 min

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1:06

In this first-person testimony, the speaker recounts her initial skepticism toward the Garden Pathways mentoring program, questioning how mentoring could help her given past family challenges. After her daughter runs away and is reported as a runaway, Garden Pathways contacts her three days later, inviting her to attend classes. Though she initially misses the first session, she eventually agrees to attend. She describes traveling to a local corner store on Chester and Terrace Way—known as the "mobile gas station"—where a man named Gil works, and mentions borrowing $2 from him to afford the bus. The narrative highlights the personal barriers, community connections, and the tentative first steps toward engaging with the mentoring program.

Chapters

It's volunteer if you want to go to Garden Pathways. And I looked at the lady and I said, what is Garden Pathways going to do? What is that? It's mentoring. You know, you meet with someone for an hour a week and, you know, they have classes and all that. And I looked at her and I kind of laughed. And I said, what is mentoring going to do for me? My parents couldn't help me change. What makes you think some classes are going to help me? She goes, you're not court ordered. You're volunteer if you want to go. And I said, okay, took off. My daughter took off from me, reported her as a runaway. And 3 days later, I get a call from Garden Pathways, and they asked me if I wanted to go to these classes and stuff. And I said yes, but I didn't show up. You know, following week they called me again and I said, okay, I'll go. And I end up going to the corner store right here on Chester and Terrace Way. We used to call it the mobile gas station. A man named Gil worked there. That was his business, and my sister knew him. So I thought maybe if I go over there and I borrow, you know, $2 before I could get the bus.