A story of love and leaps: Introducing 2025 Self Sufficiency Program graduate Luz Lopez
As Luz Lopez of Springfield reflects on her past—which includes time spent living in shelters as a young mother and jumping from house to house—she sums it up with, “My story’s long. I’m a long, long story.” But when she speaks of her current life, it sounds more like a love story. The list of things that Lopez loves is expansive and heartfelt.
Luz Lopez, a 2025 graduate of Way Finders’ Self Sufficiency Program
She loves her calm, peaceful apartment, which she secured in 2023 after receiving a housing subsidy through the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP). She loves her job—home health aide—and getting to know her clients, especially those without family support (“We step in, we become their family, they start loving you and treat you like a daughter”). She loves cats, cooking, and being outdoors. She also loves the idea of buying a mobile home someday. But above all, she loves spending time with her two sons, ages 9 and 15, who she is raising on her own.
“My kids are my inspiration. They are my world. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here either. Just by looking at their faces, it’s like, ‘I can’t give up on them. I’ve got to keep pushing.’ I left my past in the past and kept on moving forward. I did not let that define who I am,” said Lopez, a 2025 graduate of Way Finders’ Self Sufficiency Program. The three-year program is open to recipients of MRVP and is designed to help people go after their goals for employment, education, and asset building.
“Luz is such a go-getter,” said Way Finders’ Housing Mobility Program Specialist Sol Pagan, who mentored Lopez throughout the program. “Since she joined SSP, she really leaped along. She completed the Credit Success workshop and immediately began working on her credit. She completed her HiSET [High School Equivalency Test] last year. And she completed the Medical Interpreting Certificate Program at Springfield Technical Community College.”
In early 2026, Lopez helped Way Finders advocate for more resources for the MRVP at the State House in Boston, where she spoke to legislators. Her growth, confidence, and accomplishments have not gone unnoticed at home.
“The moment I walked down that stage with my HiSET diploma, my sons screamed, ‘That’s my mom!’ They were very proud of me. When I got my college certificate, they said, ‘Mom, you did it! You did it for you, but you did it for us, too,’” said Lopez. “They tell me, ‘Mom, don’t stop! Keep going.’ And the moment I told them about the law, they were like, ‘Really? Mom, bring it on, bring on the law!’”
The law—as in the Leap into Law Program, which is coordinated by Springfield WORKS. The grant-funded workforce initiative prepares under-resourced adults, especially women and accelerated career English learners, for living-wage careers in legal administration. It combines skills training, language development, and hands-on workplace experience to help participants achieve long-term career success.
Luz Lopez is at far right; joined by State Representative Carlos Gonzalez and others
“Even though Luz graduated from SSP in December, I felt she was a perfect match for Leap into Law,” said Pagan, who nominated her for it. “The training runs March through May and is taught by three lawyers inside the court. Upon completion, participants receive a check of $1,500 and are guaranteed an administrative job offer in a legal field, which people may use as a steppingstone toward other opportunities in this field. Luz interviewed for the program and was accepted!”
“It was a last-minute thing, but I thought, ‘Why not?’” said Lopez of the program. “I’ve never worked in an office before, and I want to try something new.”
Pagan knew that Lopez would be a perfect fit because the two know each other well: Lopez calls her “my other mother” and “my bestie.” One of Lopez’s most frequent refrains about Pagan is, “I bow to that lady.”
“Sol is an amazing person. She has been there with me every step of the way. She has always supported me. I would definitely call her almost every day, to ask if there is anything I needed to do,” said Lopez. “There was even a time that I wanted to quit the program, when I was too overwhelmed by everything. Working, my kids, going to school, doing this. In my head, I was telling myself, ‘You’re not going to finish.’ But Sol was another voice. She said, ‘You can’t give up. You’ve got to do this, think about your kids. Your future. Be that role model to them.’”
Staying in and completing the program—and modeling grit and perseverance—was the best decision Lopez made, she noted. She was also proud to share her sons’ career aspirations: Her older son wants to become a mechanical engineer and is currently taking high school and college classes, and her younger son wants to be a surgeon.
Luz Lopez, current Leap into Law Program participant
“I’m very proud of myself. I wanted to talk about my experience so I can show people that everything is possible in this world,” said Lopez, who is now working one-on-one with Way Finders’ Homeownership Specialist Mariola Jarzynska on her financial goals. “I want everybody, especially women and mothers out there, to hear my story and to learn something from my experience. I want others to see my personal growth and realize, ‘You know what, if she did it, I could do it too.’ Don’t give up on yourself and stay stuck. Get up and try something new.”
We are honored to help share your message with the community, Luz Lopez. Congratulations!