Southern Cal Woman Brings Program Tackling Homelessness and Unemployment to Alameda County

By Bo Tefu | Impact Alameda and Photos by LaurenRichardson

Beating the odds of poverty and drug addiction, Kim Carter used her knack for numbers to become a certified accountant. She also established Timefor Change Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps to empowerdisenfranchised communities in California based on data that reveals whateach local area it serves needs.

Carter, a 2016 Top 10 CNN Hero, was raised by a single mother of four who worked multiple jobs to make ends meet. She grew up intellectually gifted, and recalls being placed in advanced classes for most of her childhood. As a latchkey kid with a lot of free time, Carter made some poordecisions and hung out with the wrong crowd, she says. “I came from an unhealthy environment, and under-invested community that had heavy drugs and criminal activity,” says Carter. “It was basically survival of the fittest.”

In 1993, Carter experiences with drugs and homelessness led her down a path of crime that ended with her serving time in prison.

That experience, she says, led he rto realize that it was finally time to change. Cedar House, a center for alcohol and drug treatment, afforded her the opportunity to be part of a six-month reentry program after serving time. The program helped Carter tap in to her potential and revisit her youthful aspiration of having a professional career.

As a product of there entry program, Carter landed various positions working as an accountant. She kept climbing the ranks and continued to acquire certifications and skills in the discipline. Early in her career, Carter graduated from San Bernardino Valley College and the University eating the odds of poverty and drug addiction, Kim Carterused her knack for numbers to become a certified accountant. She also established Time for Change Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps toempower disenfranchised communities in California based on data thatreveals what each local area it serves needs.

Carter, a 2016 Top 10 CNN Hero, was raised by a single mother of four who worked multiple jobs to make ends meet. She grew up intellectually gifted, and recalls being placed in advanced classes for most of her childhood. As a latchkey kid with a lot of free time, Carter made some poordecisions and hung out with the wrong crowd, she says. “I came from an unhealthy environment, and under-invested community that had heavy drugs and criminal activity,” says Carter. “It was basically survival of the fit test.”

In 1993, Carter experiences of Redlands with accounting degrees. As her life was picking back up, she lost her job due to company layoffs which inspired Carter to pivot, transferring her accounting talent to theworld of nonprofit work.

“I saw accounting as a way out of poverty, it afforded me the chance to get my own apartment,” shesays. “I was able to get my daughter back and provide for her.” Carter’s daughter, who was 13-years-old at the time of their reunion, lived with her maternal grandmother in Los Angeles.