Robyn is a resilient 21-year-old young lady whose journey from unimaginable hardship turned into hope-filled independence when she came across THRU Project in 2024.

Robyn’s early years were marked by instability. She grew up with her loving birth mother, Erica, who worked hard as a caregiver. The home environment was toxic, shaped by her father’s struggles with drugs. On New Year’s Day 2017, her mother Erica made a courageous decision. She fixed a bath for her dad, giving the family time to escape the home with a few bags they had packed earlier. When the time was right, her mom grabbed their bags, fleeing to the airport with the 3 kids and flew to San Antonio for a fresh start, without her father’s knowledge.

They moved in with family, and things were okay until Robyn’s aunt (Erica’s sister) sadly passed away. Her mom then became extremely depressed, entered toxic relationships, and eventually reached out to her father and invited him to join them in San Antonio. Tragically, Robyn’s mother died at the hands of her father in 2018. This unimaginable event changed this family’s life forever.

With her mother deceased and her father incarcerated, Robyn and her siblings were now orphaned and passed around between family members.

After their removal, Robyn and her two younger brothers were placed with a family member’s boyfriend. They lived in a crowded one-bedroom apartment with nine people and several untrained dogs. The home was unstable— there were drugs, trafficking and many different people came and went. The children often went hungry and did not receive proper care. Robyn remembers one time when she and her brothers shared a single slice of bologna after three days without food. She and her brother made multiple reports to authorities, before help finally arrived.

At age 16, Robyn entered foster care and spent time in Residential Treatment Centers (RTCs). She was usually the oldest youth there and was expected to be a role model for the younger kids, even though she had not had positive examples herself. Frustrated and wanting independence, she learned she could enter the Children Without Placement (CWOP) program after graduating high school. That gave her the motivation to finish school a year early.

Robyn ran away, found herself homeless, lived under a bridge, and stayed with friends when possible. She had been couch-surfing and had not slept on a mattress for at least three years when she saw a THRU Project ad and made the call. In 2024, THRU Project encouraged her to return to school, and they would find her an apartment, pay her rent, give her a bus pass, and help with groceries.

Today, Robyn has earned her Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) certification, secured full-time employment, and gained custody of her younger brother. She has also found something she once thought was out of reach—a peaceful place to call home. She now shares that home with her brother and beloved cat, where she can cook, relax, and, for the first time, truly feel safe.

Robyn has turned her trauma into triumph and is now living a joyful, successful life, with stability and a a bright future where she feels safe.

Her thoughts about THRU Project?

“THRU Project didn’t just help me survive…they helped me start living!”