Meredith Contreras Story

Many people take day-to-day experiences for granted: having a warm bed, a hot meal, a refreshing shower. However, for children and teens whose life has been disrupted, these experiences are luxuries to treasure.

Meredith Contreras, who entered the Embrace Higher Education home in Florence, Ala., in 2013, said the stability of the home life she experienced in college was one of the greatest advantages of participation.

“One of the main things people might not even consider as a benefit of living in the Higher Ed home –stable living, sleeping in a bed every night, having lights and electricity – these were things I hadn’t really experienced,” she said. “We had meals every day. We had a house and reliable transportation.” Those comforts of home gave Meredith the support and encouragement she needed to complete a bachelor’s of business and administration (BBA) at the University of North Alabama, making her the first graduate of the Embrace Higher Ed Program.

Meredith said she had “bumped around from house to house” until moving in with her grandmother during her senior year of high school. “I could have lived with her earlier, but I didn’t. My grandmother was the best!” Meredith knew she wanted to attend college, but she did not believe that could happen. “How could I afford it? Could I live on campus? Off campus might be cheaper, but how could I rent off campus without transportation?” she remembers wondering.
Things changed when her high school counselor, Ken James of Falkville, went to a conference and learned about Embrace’s Higher Ed program. James encouraged her to apply, and she did. As time approached to begin college, she had no news from Embrace, but in her determination, she began to apply for loans. Suddenly, she learned she was accepted, and a new chapter of her life began.

Upon graduation, a member of the Embrace leadership team helped Meredith find job interviews and prepare for the transition to work life. Meredith used her stipend money from Embrace to move to Nashville and begin a career, getting several promotions along the way. During the COVID shut-downs, Meredith worked from home while earning an MBA. She has since begun a new job with a government contractor, bought a home, and gotten married. She is expecting a baby this year.

Her husband, a contractor, is building the couple a “forever home,” and Meredith couldn’t be happier. Having a home is something she longed for in life, and she remembers fondly the home she found in Florence through Embrace all those years ago. “To this day, I am still connected to three of the four girls who lived with me there and I’m social media friends with the others,” she said. “We bonded because we didn’t have to feel shame or embarrassment about our history.”

Meredith says her whole life trajectory changed because of Embrace. “Dr. Blake Horne, Embrace president and CEO, always says, ‘We find children and love them where they are,’” she said. “They did that for me. I love that place! I tell everyone about it.”

Meredith’s niece is now in the UNA program, living in the Higher Ed home. “She lives with us when she’s not in school,” Meredith said. “I love to visit. When I was there, we had five girls. Now there are 12. I am available to girls there if they need someone to talk to because I have been there.”

“It’s still unreal at times,” she said. “It really is all because of God.” And because God opened that door to a college home for her, Meredith has a life she never thought possible.