This female client originally came to the RCP (Recuperative Care Program) last spring.  She had been living in her car for over one year since fleeing from a violent relationship.  She was in need of hip surgery (on both hips) but due to her being morbidly obese, she was unable to safely have the surgery until she lost a great deal of weight.  She was also severely depressed.  Over the next 6 months she received counseling with the Community Counseling Center on-site Intern which greatly improved her depression.  She began eating healthy and started attending swimming sessions at Sinsheimer pool.  She worked with the RCP nurse and Medical Case Manager to prepare for gastric bypass surgery, which was a success.  She increased her swimming and eventually lost the right amount of weight to qualify for hip surgery.  She enrolled in Cuesta College and started on-line classes to complete her AA degree which she had begun years ago.  She began to see a “light at the end of the tunnel” and is excited about her future.  Just last week she received her back SSI and was able to not only purchase a used car but also set aside enough towards a shared apartment that she will move into in November.  She has repeatedly said that without RCP she “wouldn’t have made it” and credits the staff for helping her to turn her life around.  On October 2^nd, she attended the City of SLO Community Needs Assessment hearing with staff and publicly praised the program.  She said that she “never would have had the confidence to get up in front of a lot of people”, but “now I have a new life!”