Ray arrived unable to do much more than sign his name. He could barely identify all of he letters and was unable to add well enough to make change for a dollar. When he entered YES! in October 2007, he was living in a homeless shelter. He came to YES! to gain enough math skills that he wouldn’t be cheated out of wages for the day labor that he did. After two years with YES!, Ray is now employed and living on his own in Baton Rouge.

Lester arrived at YES! with a reading level of less than 1st grade. At nearly fifty years old, he had only been sporadically employed and had spent some time in prison. After finally returning to New Orleans in August 2009 following his Katrina evacuation, he decided to finally address his reading issues. He attends classes daily and is progressing well.