Success Stories: Andrea D. Lego

PROTECTIVE SERVICES WORKER UNDERSTANDS THE CHALLENGES FACING HER CLIENTS

"Public Housing gave me the wherewithal to proceed with my life. I was blessed to live in public housing when I needed it, and blessed to be able to move out when the need passed."

"(Andrea Lego) lived in public housing for seven years while she finished college and obtained her Master's Degree."

Her business card reads, Andrea D. Lego, MSW. She works for the City and County of San Francisco, Human Services Agency as a Protective Services Worker. She is proud of the work she does to try to keep families together or to reunify families that have been split apart. There is a glow about her when she talks about working with the kids and the families that she serves.

When most college students are taking five years or more to complete their undergraduate degrees, Andrea Lego finished her Bachelor of Arts in Social Work in four years, including summer school. She was on the Dean's List. She was also a single mother on CALWorks while she going to school full time. She then went on to complete her Master's of Social Work three years later, after taking a year off school to work as Family Preservation Specialist for a nonprofit. Not bad for a woman who graduated from a continuation high- school and the first in her family to attend college.

Andrea graduated from high school, while carrying her first child. At 18, with one child and another on the way, she needed a safe and affordable place to raise her family and plan her life. She found such a place at Holly Courts, a public housing development in Bernal Heights. She lived in public housing for seven years while she finished college and obtained her Master's Degree. Andrea received CalWorks payments for four of the years that she was in College. Along the way to obtaining her BA, Andrea did an internship with the San Francisco Housing Authority's Social Services Department where she worked with Mr. Buddy Tate Choy, then the Deputy Administrator over that Department. She describes this internship as a positive experience for her and she says Mr. Choy was very helpful to her in putting her studies to practical use. Andrea also worked with Ms. Jennifer Hudson, Domestic Violence and Crisis Intervention while serving the internship at the Housing Authority.

After obtaining her Master's Degree, Andrea worked for a non-profit social service agency in San Francisco, before her current position. Her case load now is about 25 kids with higher peaks and the potential for the involvement of multiple family members.

"I was blessed to live in public housing when I needed it, and blessed to be able to move out when the need passed."

Andrea believes her experience living in public housing, receiving CalWorks, and being a single mom have provided her with a unique perspective as she assists her clients. She knows the challenges first hand, knows the available resources, and can be a role model to those she contacts in her job.

While Andrea feels she is a true San Franciscan and loves the City, she and her husband recently purchased a newly custom built home out of the City. They picked out the carpeting, the flooring, and drapes. They reside in their new house with their two children, a daughter who is nearly 10, and son who is 8.

Andrea proudly says, "I'm 27." She's accomplished a lot in a short 27 years. Andrea is currently preparing for her Social Worker license and expects to test next year. For Andrea, there is no turning back. She is living proof that there are chances out there for those who reach out for them.

We have many success stories among our residents and former residents. We hope these stories will inform and inspire the readers.
Readers with story ideas about successful residents of San Francisco Housing Authority public housing or Section 8 housing should submit those ideas to feedback@sfha.org. Please include as much information as you can.