Rene’s Story
“You can’t change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ~ C.S. Lewis
Rene Perea is the perfect example of the wonders performed by the Nnee Bich’o Nii (TANF) TEAM. His success is a culmination of his determination to change his life and TEAM effort.
Rene is a young man, honest, hardworking, and eager to learn new things. According to him, this wasn’t always the case. He left the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, about seven years ago, on an unexpected adventure, that would change his life in ways he never dreamed.
Fate brought Rene to San Carlos and introduced him to his girlfriend (now his wife), Denise. Also, fate brought him to the Nnee Bich’o Nii. Without these three life changing events, Rene believes he would be incarcerated, or God forbid, dead.
Rene is very open and straightforward about his past. He had an alcohol and drug addiction and a lengthy criminal record. He burned bridges with his parents, he lied to them, and stole from them. Those demons followed him to San Carlos where he put his girlfriend through the same chaos. This raw honesty gives anyone he talks to a basis for his success.
His wife, Denise, has been a major factor in all the changes he has made. He admits she is the reason he “got clean”. She is the reason he has left the chaotic life, the reason he has his kids, the reason he is happy now. She is also the one that brought him to Nnee Bich’o Nii. He states, “If it wasn’t for her, I would’ve never gotten into this program.”
By July 2018, Rene had moved to San Carlos, met his girlfriend, they had their first daughter and embarked on his journey with Nnee Bich’o Nii. He was selected for On-The-Job Training as an Auto Detailer with Apache Transit. He noticed the maintenance crew and got to know some of the crew members. He took a chance and asked if he could join the crew. One month later, his transfer was finalized, he was officially a part of the Nnee Bich’o Nii Maintenance Project. Rene beams with pride and honestly admits he “didn’t even know how to read a measuring tape”. This gives you an idea of how far he has come with the help of the Nnee Bich’o Nii.
Rene was starting down the right path, but he still had several challenges ahead of him. He could no longer hide from his past if he wanted a better future. This is where Ronnie Crowe, Nnee Bich’o Nii On-Site Investigator, stepped in. Ronnie has an extensive background in law enforcement and used his knowledge of the judicial system to help Rene start the long process of facing his past. Rene admits he was nervous in the beginning, but Ronnie was always there to provide advice, support and encouragement. Rene fondly recalls a day when Ronnie escorted him to a court hearing in Phoenix. He states, “He picked me up at 5:00 o’clock in the morning. That is commitment and his goal was to make sure that I got all this stuff taken care of. He encouraged me. Ronnie Crowe encouraged me a lot to keep pushing forward even when I didn’t want to.” It took nearly two years for Rene to pay his fines and was able to have his Arizona Driver’s License reinstated. Rene stated, “it really is because of Ronnie Crowe. He really helped me out a lot and I appreciate him”. Rene states “if he was here, I would thank him because without him I wouldn’t have gotten this far with having my license back. He pushed me to do it because I think he cared.”
Meanwhile, back on the Nnee Bich’o Nii Maintenance Project, Rene was learning everything he could about construction and maintenance. He dedicated himself to be at work every day and giving 110%. Rene said he only missed days he had to, but he didn’t like it because he felt like he was missing an opportunity to learn something new. He credits the Assistant Support Trainers for their patience while he was learning. He expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to learn about construction from Construction Supervisor, Anthony Henry, aka “Bunny”. He said, “I don’t know if any of us would have the knowledge that we have if it wasn’t for Bunny. The guy is smart. He knows what he’s doing in construction.” Rene spent almost three years working with the Maintenance Project. He started as a Laborer and was promoted to Assistant Support Trainee. He stepped out of the shadow of his mentors and into their shoes, teaching the new trainees with the same kindness, respect, and patience he had been given.
Karina Bendle, Employment & Training Counselor, guided Rene on his journey with Nnee Bich’o Nii. She helped Rene identify the challenges that laid ahead and made plans to tackle each challenge. Rene’s biggest challenge was his criminal history. He was honest from the beginning and did not try to hide his past. After Ronnie Crowe helped Rene settle his court matters, Karina helped him set up a payment plan to pay his fines. Karina would call to remind him when a payment had to be made, something had to be done or just to check in with them, to see how their day was going. Rene said, “Not a lot of people do that, they don’t come and check on you to make sure you and your family are doing okay and stuff like that…she took the time to do that…it showed that she cared as a counselor, as a person, that she cared about us and wanted us to keep pushing forward and making sure that all of our stuff was taken care of.”
Rene took full advantage of every opportunity and support service Nnee Bich’o Nii offered, including the World of Work classes, that prepared him for the work force, which included completing job applications, writing a job resume and cover letters, preparing for interviews, basic life skills and budgeting. Members of the Nnee Bich’o Nii TEAM would give presentations, give advice and share their experience in the work force.
Rene attended Fatherhood is Sacred (FIS) with Jonathan Duncan, Outreach Coordinator/FIS Facilitator and Jerry Harmon, FIS Co-Facilitator. FIS is a twelve-week course for fathers to help them to better understand their role in the family. Rene admits he was a little hesitant to take the class, wondering what a book could teach him about being a father. He found out that it wasn’t just a class, it was a safe place for him to share his struggles. He connected with Jon on a different level and was able to share things with him that he couldn’t share with others. Rene said, “Jon helped me stay with the program because there were times I wanted to give up. He is the type of person that will help you as much as he can, until he can’t…until there is nothing else he can do, but even then, he’s going to try to push you.”
Rene spent three years with Nnee Bich’o Nii (TANF as he calls it). He accomplished many great things he never dreamt would be possible. He is leaving the comfort and familiarity of Nnee Bich’o Nii with the knowledge, skills, and confidence he gained through hard work and perseverance. He accepted a position in the mining industry. He got his foot in the door and optimistically says, he is starting at the bottom, like he did at TANF, but he is going to put in all of his effort. The Nnee Bich’o Nii TEAM will continue to provide Rene and his family with support services for 12 months. The bond that have formed between Rene and some of the TEAM members will last a lifetime.
In his own words, Rene would tell someone who is struggling to make a better life, “I know it’s hard and trust me, I’ve been there. I don’t understand their story, but I come from a pretty bad background and TANF will help in anything you need as long as you’re willing to put in the effort. To tell a person that’s wanting to change their life, and to get a foot in the door, I would highly recommend TANF for that family”. Really, if they’re trying to change their life around because they changed my life around, they really, really did…there are no words I can think of to thank TANF for giving me three years to get where I’m at. I would tell someone to take a step…it’s a hard road but there’s light at the end of that dark and hard road. There really is. Take it from a person whose been there and done it and is moving on to different opportunities and it’s because of them. It’s because of TANF, it really is, it’s because of them. I wouldn’t be where I’m at if it wasn’t for that program. When you have people that genuinely care about how you’re doing it changes things. TANF. I owe them my life because of what they’ve done for me.”
Daniel’s Story
Liberty High School Graduate
Daniel Jackson stood nervously outside of the High Desert Middle School auditorium on Thursday evening. He waited anxiously in a crowd of teenagers old enough to be his grandchildren. He had been waiting for this moment for over 40 years. He was going to receive his high school diploma at the age of 62.
Daniel is a modest man; honest and hardworking. He is an inspiration. He has worked hard all of his life to provide for his family. He was able to do so without his high school diploma or G.E.D. for a very long time. Then things began to change. He was unable to find a job without a high school diploma or a G.E.D. No one would hire him regardless of his years of experience.
In 2013, he applied for cash assistance with the Nnee Bich’o Nii Program (TANF) in San Carlos. Nnee Bich’o Nii means Helping the People in the Apache language. That is exactly what the program’s staff did for Daniel; they stood by him, encouraged him and would not let him give up. After his first meeting with Leilani Olivar, Employment & Training Counselor, he was placed in the On-The-Job training program working construction projects.
The Nnee Bich’o Nii Program requires that the participants have a high school diploma or a G.E.D. If the participant does not have either, they provide an Education Program that will assist the participant to earn their diploma. Daniel began taking G.E.D. classes and admits that he “just couldn’t get it.” He tried one more time in October of 2017 with Saralyn Hooke, Workforce Trainer. Saralyn helps adult students and connects with them through the Apache traditions and language.
Back in the 1970s, Daniel attended a boarding school in Nevada. He admits that he dropped out because he “thought it was the cool thing to do…but it wasn’t cool.” He contacted the boarding school and found that he qualified for the credit recovery program. They were able to transfer his credits from 40 years ago to Liberty High School in Globe.
Daniel says it has been hard and he almost gave up on Saralyn (Hooke) a couple of times but she would not let him quit. When asked what advice he would give to others, Daniel says, “Don’t be ashamed. You’re never too old to finish. Put your shame away for the sake of your family and yourself. No matter how old you are, do what needs to be done to accomplish your goals. Get your high school diploma or G.E.D. It’s the only way. Education is the only way to get ahead nowadays.”
Daniel expresses his gratitude to Bernie Kniffin, Nnee Bich’o Nii Program Director for everything she does to help the people and Saralyn Hooke for never giving up on him. He especially thanks his wife for standing by him through it all. Thursday evening, May 30, 2019, Daniel walked across the stage and received his high school diploma from Kay Ratcliff & Jacqueline Tretow, LHS Governing Board members. Then, in the midst of teenagers, old enough to be his grandchildren, Daniel turned his tassel, signifying an accomplishment, 40 years in the making.
Tina’s Story
Laphondtina Young (Tina) is a participant that is taking full advantage of the services to provide a better future for her family.
Tina is the mother of 2 adorable children; Mya, 10 and Noah, 5. She worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant to provide for her family, but she had bigger dreams; she wanted to be a Registered Nurse. She focused on her education, she took a leap of faith and enrolled in the Nursing program at Gila County Community College through Eastern Arizona College. She qualified to receive a partial Pell Grant which covered the cost of the courses but nothing more. She began her classes in August 2019.
Struggling to make ends meet, Tina found herself reaching out to Nnee Bich’o Nii. She states, “I had always heard about TANF but didn’t know if I qualified since I’m not from here.” Tina is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. The services provided by Nnee Bich’o Nii is available to anyone with a dependent child or children who has established residency on the San Carlos Apache Reservation. Applicants are never denied on the basis of their race or tribal affiliation.
Tina filled out an application and was assigned to Karina Bendle, Training & Employment Counselor. Since she was a student, enrolled in college, she qualified to receive a monthly cash stipend. It is not a fortune that receives but just enough to help pay a few bills and purchase a few household items. She found herself in need of help when she had to pay a fee for an online course, so she reached out to Karina. Nnee Bich’o Nii was able to pay for the course.
Karina and Tina have established a solid working relationship. Karina reaches out to Tina on a regular basis, to check up on her, to see if she needs help with anything, to assure her that she is not alone, to provide encouragement and support. Tina states that Karina is very helpful, approachable and is constantly looking for ways to help. That is the goal of the Nnee Bich’o Nii Program; to “help the people” become independent.
Tina took her leap of faith and found the Nnee Bich’o Nii Program and together they are working on seeing her dream of being a Registered Nurse come true. She plans on completing her courses in May 2021. Until then, Tina will be eligible to receive the support, encouragement and services from Nnee Bich’o Nii. Her long-term goals include earning a Bachelors of Science in Nursing and a Doctorate in Nursing.
Tina would like to let the community know that “nothing is impossible, that there is help out there” and she found that help through the Nnee Bich’o Nii Program.
The Nnee Bich’o Nii Program is there to help. For more information or to apply for services, you can visit or call their office in Peridot, (928) 475-5011 or in Bylas, (928) 475-5032.
Marlena’s Story
“Don’t give up because the beginning is always the hardest” are the words that kept Marlena Samuels motivated in moving forward. Marlena, a former TANF client, is a single mother of two beautiful daughters, who are six and eight years-old. She moved to the San Carlos Apache reservation in September of 2004 and several years later, she applied for DES cash assistance and was referred to the TANF program for Case Management. During that time, Marlena was attending Eastern Arizona College on a full-time basis where she obtained an Associates of Applied Science Degree.
Through her stint with the TANF program, Marlena has had several opportunities that prepared her to gain employment, for example, the World-of-Works class, Job Search experience, Unpaid Work Experience (volunteering) and On-The–Job training, where she was assigned to the Bylas TANF office as a receptionist and transit driver. These exposures allowed Marlena to create and expound on her work experience, job skills and business relationships, with tribal and non-tribal departments.
When asked about barriers, Marlena says being a non-tribal member and trying to find employment, to provide for her family, was very hard and challenging. Her advice to current TANF clients is, “Take advantage of Nnee Bich o’ Nii support services and utilize the tools gained from the program to become self-sufficient.” Following her own advice, Marlena found employment with the SCAT Department of Health & Human Services-Public Health Nursing Department, where she has been there since October 2015, and recently has started her new position, as a Communicable Disease Investigator.
Marlena credits her family support and her faith in Jesus Christ as her strongest support and says her favorite scripture is Psalm 37:4-5. Marlena is an example of how her perseverance resulted in great rewards and although her situations looked bleak and unfair, she never gave up hope. Awesome job!
McCartha’s Story
McCartha Nosie is a single mother of five children, ages twenty-three, twenty-one, sixteen, four and a two year-olds. McCartha has a lot of goals in life, but one goal that has been eluding her for a while was obtaining her Adult GED certificate. Let’s take a look at her journey.
McCartha started attending GED classes in 1996 and after much studying, she passed three subject areas and failed the fourth one, which was math. During this time, she was working labor jobs and struggling to provide for her family. Although she endured domestic violence, she still kept her goal and started attending GED classes again in 2014. Again after much studying, she passed three subject areas, but math was still a challenge. In 2015, McCartha’s mother passed away and although she was still recovering from her loss, she continued to work.
The following year, she entered the San Carlos Training Institute (SCTI) and attended the Heavy Equipment Maintenance course. After she graduated SCTI in 2017, she landed a job in the Globe area and rode the Apache Transit to work and back.
During that time, she heard about Nnee Bich’o Nii Program, but didn’t know much about it. After leaving her work in Globe, she applied for Nnee Bich’o Nii Program and became a client. Her Employment Career & Development Plan (ECDP) was to start attending GED classes again. In 2019, after attending weekly classes and much studying. McCartha took her state GED exams and passed three areas and failed the math. Finally, two months later, she passed her math and received her GED certificate. McCartha was very, very happy and credits her former GED Instructor and her Nnee Bich’o Nii Counselor for encouraging her and not giving up on her.
Her advice is to other Nnee Bich’o Nii clients is “Don’t give up. Anything is possible.” She says the Nnee Bich’o Nii Program can help a lot, for example, clothing assistance, paying court fines, transit referrals. The Counselors go above and beyond to help. McCartha thought she was alone, but soon realized there were others out there in the same position as she was. McCartha overcame several barriers to get where she’s at and now she has one less barrier. Her next goal will soon be realized and self-sufficiency achieved. Congratulations McCartha! We are PROUD of you!
Clarita’s Story
At times, we tend to celebrate the big accomplishments in life, but in reality, it is the small ones that determines its outcome. This is exactly what Clarita Victor of Bylas, Arizona, experienced recently. Clarita is a 22 year-old single mom of two kids, a four year-old and a seven month-old. Clarita entered the Nnee Bich’o Nii Program in the summer of 2014 and at that time, she started volunteering, then soon thereafter, she started as a Maintenance Laborer, with the Nnee Bich’o Nii Construction team.
After being with the construction team for a year, she transferred the Apache Transit Cutter Substation, as an Office Aide/Receptionist. Once she started with the TANF Program, she discovered several opportunities the program had to offer, they were a reliable transit route, gaining valuable work experience and having a caring Case Manager.
For Clarita, her big barriers were finding a reliable babysitter and transportation. After talking with her family and assigned TANF Case Manager, her barriers were resolved; her mother and sister were her babysitters and she utilized the local transit routes. When asked about advices to give to current TANF clients, Clarita says, “Have the Nnee Bich’o Nii Program help you with the struggles you may have and take the chances/offers given by the Nnee Bich’o Nii Program.”
Following her own advice, and after many attempts, Clarita finally received her Arizona State Driver’s license and is well on her way to self-sufficiency. Clarita’s goal is to find a job at the local mines as a Fixed Plant Operator, which is fitting because this is what she graduated from San Carlos Training Institute for. For now, she is assigned to the Apache Transit as a driver. We wish her all the blessings and continue to support her. Congratulations, Clarita!
Yolanda’s Story
When you walk into the San Carlos Tribal Social Services office, you are greeted with a warm, friendly and helpful smile. That smile belongs to Yolanda Jordan. Yolanda is the Social Service Receptionist and a Nnee Bich’o Nii participant.
Yolanda has in impressive work history; 18 years with the Apache Gold Casino and 3 years with Casino Arizona. She was always on her feet, helping customers and co-workers with that friendly smile and positive attitude. Unfortunately, due to medical reasons, Yolanda had no choice but to resign her position with Casino Arizona in April 2018.
In June of 2018, she and her 11-year-old daughter signed up with the Nnee Bich’o Nii program.
Participants of the Nnee Bich’o Nii Program are required to volunteer 25 hours a week. If the participant displays a good work ethic, they are considered for On The Job Training Program and paid an hourly wage.
Yolanda began volunteering at the San Carlos Agency as soon as she signed up. She enjoyed her time there and took advantage of the learning opportunity. She was transferred to Tribal Social Services in October 2018.
As a participant of the Nnee Bich’o Nii Program, Yolanda attended the World of Work training with Saralyn Hooke, Instructor. She learned how to write a resume, goal setting and 1st Aid and CPR. Parents are not the only ones who are required to meet goals in the program. The children are also required to meet goals, too. The parents must submit their children’s school attendance.
Yolanda’s daughter, Kay, had perfect attendance in 2018 and received a bike for Christmas that was donated from Gila County. A bike that was rescued from the landfill and rebuilt by inmates at the Gila County Recycle & Landfill Management Department.
Yolanda was permanently hired as the Receptionist at Tribal Social Services in February 2019 where she has become a valuable asset to the department.
Terry Ross, TSS Director, praised Yolanda for her positive attitude. He stated that she is reliable, dependable, patient, tactful and professional. She knows the people of San Carlos and speaks fluent Apache. She is the center of the department, keeping track of all the programs and employees.
Although her time with the Nnee Bich’o Nii Program was not very long, Yolanda took advantage of all the help they offered. She thanks the Nnee Bich’o Nii Program for everything they did to help her start her new journey in life.