Kanisha Robinson
Dearborn YMCA Pathway to Employment Youth Program

Only A Child Herself, A Young Mother’s Love For Her Children Spurs Her On To Success
Kanisha Robinson is one very determined young lady. At only twenty years old, she is married to Willie Robinson and has three small children—Inns Jones, Shanya Robinson and Sakiya Robinson. Kanisha has faced the challenge of being a young mother and wife before she was really ready, as well as many other challenges and hurdles in her short life.

Kanisha’s own mother died when she was only eleven years old and she became a foster child under the custody of the Department of Human Resources (DHR). Her grandmother took Kanisha and her two sisters in and cared for them, but they struggled. Kanisha ultimately left high school early, got married and became a mother herself.

When Kanisha came into the Dearborn YMCA Pathway to Employment Youth Program sponsored by Mobile Works, she already had two young children and was eight months pregnant with her third, but determined to create a better life for herself and her young family. Kanisha saw that if she wanted to change her life, she needed to get an education—and to do that she was going to have to get her GED first.

“The Dearborn YMCA staff really worked with me to help me get my education. They supported me in every way and they sent my work home to me when I wasn’t able to come to class,” says Kanisha. “The job readiness portion of the program helped me become employed and after being out six weeks for maternity leave, I came back to class and received my GED on December 7, 2005. I couldn’t have done it without their help and I feel that Dearborn has given me a second chance at life!”

The program provided childcare for Kanisha’s children while she obtained her education and the Dearborn YMCA staff helped her find childcare after she completed the program. Roshundra McGrew says, “Despite her past history and all of the obstacles she has faced, Kanisha is striving to better the lives of herself and her children. Kanisha’s been successful because of her determination—she is determined to achieve the goals she set for herself at the beginning of the program. She graduated the program and obtained her GED, which is the biggest step, and she is working on the rest of her goals and committed to success. I believe Kanisha is a role model for young mothers everywhere.”

Kanisha says she had been to many different programs before Dearborn, but none of them were as motivating for her as the Dearborn YMCA Pathway to Employment Program. According to Kanisha, “Roshundra McGrew and the rest of the Dearborn staff are very caring and dedicated—the entire organization helped me so much! They motivated me to set my goals and strive to achieve them. Now I’m employed at Subway and I’m enrolled at Bishop State for the spring semester to study nursing.”

At Mobile Works, we are proud to sponsor programs like the Dearborn YMCA Pathway to Employment Youth Program and we are proud to be able to help change the lives of young people such as Kanisha Robinson. Through the Dearborn program, Mobile Works has been able to touch Kanisha’s life, her husband’s live and the lives of their three young children. We wish Kanisha Robinson much continued success in her nursing career!