Roque's Story - A Shining Star

This month, we caught up with our client, Roque Aparicio.  Roque is a shining star in the Jobs of Hope program.  Roque is an example of a client who took advantage of every opportunity to grow in the program.  We are proud of Roque for obtaining his commercial driver’s license and for a definite change in his attitude and motivation.  Even as this article reaches you, Roque has traveled between CA and TN for on-the-job training for his new job at a trucking company.

Roque came to Jobs of Hope looking for a place to rest his head. His primary support during this journey has been the Jobs of Hope program. The spiritual connection lost during childhood and adulthood has now been restored.   

After the loss of his mother at age 13, Roque found himself living with family and anyone who would take him in. Finding a home was always a struggle for Roque.

Roque was determined to graduate from Northridge High School.  After high school, he graduated from NJC Junior College with his AA in Criminal Justice.   He enrolled in UNC for one year but had to leave school to work and support himself.

Roque soon gained full-time employment at the age of 22.  With a down payment of $15,000 saved in the bank, he was able to buy his first home.

At a young age, he continued to work hard in logistics, loved working on cars in his garage, and always made improvements to his home.

Roque remembers, “I would come home and find damage and items stolen from my home. Of course, I defended my home, and this led me to altercations with my neighbors and now I found myself caught in the system. After I was charged with assault, I lost my job and eventually lost my home. I was unable to gain employment because of my pending case for assault.”

“After four years of struggling to pay my fines, attending required court appointments, working two jobs, I looked for programs like Jobs of Hope. I was living in my truck, and eventually a friend told me about the House of Hope and the program of Jobs of Hope. I was impressed by the program from the start. I joined the Jobs of Hope program in Feb of 2024 and entered the House of Hope in March of 2024.”

Rocky explains, “At the House of Hope, I found rest. I found a place where I could sleep at night and go to work and know that when I was off work, I had a place to rest.  I attended the Jobs of Hope classes in person, and seen the program was focused on a personal level.”

Today, with the help of Jobs of Hope, Roque has a commercial driver’s license and a tankers endorsement and is now in California for his “Over the Road training.” After he completes his training in San Bernadino, California, his goal is to be an Owner/Operator!

“The thing I am going to miss about Jobs of Hope is the Saturday morning fellowships where we talk and encourage one another. I am going to miss everything I learned in our Tuesday night classes, the values; they were super valuable.”  Roque plans to stay connected to Jobs of Hope even after becoming a truck driver.  “I am excited about my future and plan to stay connected and join the JOH Alumni family here at Jobs of Hope. This is my community!”