Nick's Story
Behind Every Door is a series of success stories featuring those who have been served by the Virginia Beach CDC and the regional outreach of Second Act Communities.
Since 1985, the Virginia Beach CDC has served over 8,000 individuals who we refer to as our "neighbors." Nick Wood, a high school senior, is one of those neighbors.
Throughout his school years, Nick's family moved back and forth between Northern Virginia and Virginia Beach, leading to Nick attending many different schools and falling behind other students his age. "It has definitely impacted my grades and I've had to go to summer school," he explained.
In October 2014, Nick's mother left his father, and then Nick and his mother lost access to stable housing. They received help from the Samaritan House for two months before being referred to VBCDC's Transitional Housing Program, which helps families transition from homelessness into permanent housing. Nick and his mother will find stable housing through VBCDC and their lives will no longer be interrupted by constantly moving.
Recently, VBCDC helped Nick take advantage of his spring break to attend "Jet Tech Camp" hosted by the Aviation Institute of Maintenance Chesapeake. Nick had the opportunity to get hands on with wings and rudder riveting, and even got a turn in the cockpit.
With VBCDC's help and through his own drive to succeed, Nick has been able to stay dedicated to learning in school and even over spring break. Nick will graduate from Landstown High School in Virginia Beach this August. When I asked if he felt confident about what the future holds, Nick said he is "extremely excited about graduating" and "already committed to studying Criminal Justice at Tidewater Community College."
VBCDC's goal is to open more doors of opportunity to those needing affordable housing. We are looking for creative partnerships with other government, nonprofits, for profit businesses, private developers, citizens groups, educational institutions, etc. Let's have a conversation about changing lives.
Thank you for all that you do.
Gina R. Lucy
Gina is the Leader, Marketing & Community Relations and spends her days (and lots of evenings) telling everyone the story of VBCDC and Second Act Communities.
