Helping others paves the way for a new career
When LaToya Scott visited the downtown YWCA on a rainy day 11 years ago, she never imagined it would change the direction of her life. As she headed into their food pantry, a woman with a young son approached her to ask about the bus schedule. LaToya told her where to stand to catch the bus and headed inside. An hour and half later, she came back out and noticed the woman still there.
“It was cold out, and her son was crying,” she said. “So, I offered to give her a ride.”
During the ride, LaToya learned the woman had five children and was staying at a homeless shelter called Family Promise of Greater Des Moines (FPGD). “I had no idea there was a shelter so close to my house,” LaToya admitted. After hearing the woman’s story, and her struggles with transportation, LaToya offered to give her a car she had in her driveway. That decision turned out to pave a new future for LaToya.
When LaToya returned to the shelter to give the woman the car’s title, she met Jim Cain, executive director of FPGD. “I told Jim I was looking for a job in human services. I had just graduated from DMACC with an associate’s degree and couldn’t find a job in that field,” she said.
Jim said he originally hired LaToya as the FPGD Day Center supervisor, but just six months later, she was promoted to case manager where she has remained ever since. In 2017, LaToya graduated from Upper Iowa University with her bachelor’s degree.
“LaToya is a real asset to Family Promise of Greater Des Moines and the families we serve,” said Jim. “In her time as case manager, she has assisted more than 140 families with finding permanent or transitional housing and more than 100 parents with finding employment.”
As a mother of four kids under the age of 16, LaToya understands the pressures of juggling parenthood and work. She said the lack of affordable housing for low-income families creates even more challenges for the families she helps.
“Watching these families struggle when I know they’re working hard, and seeing they’re still getting denials, is difficult,” she explained.
But LaToya’s dedication to the guest families is fueled by her lifelong desire to help other people. “I enjoy working with the [FPGD] families and helping them. I get to witness their excitement when they accomplish their goals and find housing,” she said. And the countless notes of thanks from past guests that decorate her desk illustrate that she’s undeniably good at it. “This is what I feel I was called to do.”
Thank you, LaToya, for your service, your passion for helping families, and for your dedication to Family Promise of Greater Des Moines! Please feel free to send LaToya your notes of thanks and appreciation at
latoya@familypromisedm.org.