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Hanelly had a difficult childhood, moving with her mother between New York City, Florida, the Dominican Republic, France and Spain. She began using alcohol and drugs by age ten, but was able to keep others from knowing for a while. She began to have trouble in and out of school and her mother sought treatment for her in hospitals and rehabilitation facilities. Hanelly even contemplated suicide.

The changing point in her life was the birth of her daughter. "Before I had my daughter, I didn’t care about anything. Not even watching my best friend die of AIDS changed me. It took looking at my beautiful daughter to make me want a better life."

While visiting her sister in Maine, Hanelly decided to stay and signed up for the family literacy program at the Biddeford Adult Learning Center. Her daughter received children’s education services just down the hall while Hanelly worked toward completing requirements for her high school diploma. Hanelly found the parent-child interaction time with her daughter very rewarding. She built on her own language skills as she and her daughter read books together. "We both really love our story time together, and I have learned that we’re making reading a lifelong habit for my daughter...and for me!"

Hanelly’s time spent with other parents has increased her confidence, and she now expresses her opinion and asks questions of others. She has learned coping skills that allow her to respond to her daughter’s temper tantrums in a positive andsupportive manner.

Hanelly received her high school diploma and has passed the entrance test for the University of Southern Maine where she plans to take courses on mental health and drug abuse. She volunteers in a mental health facility three times a week.

Hanelly says "being part of family literacy has helped me and my daughter in so many ways. It touches so many parts of out lives!" She feels that because of family literacy, their lives are happier and fuller, and their futures are brighter.