GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - Hope -- it's a simple word that has changed one Grand Valley woman's life forever. Once broken and abused, she's back on her feet, thanks to the help of local groups she never knew existed. Now she hopes her story will show other women it's never impossible to start over.

With three happy children, a comfortable home, and a new outlook on life, Antoinette Martinez seems like a woman who has it all together.

"I went ahead with my GED so I can go to college and become a nurse for the NICU," said Martinez, a single mother.

But just a year ago, that wasn't the case at all.

"I would cry and think no one cares about you, you mean nothing in this world," said Martinez. "I would cry and my kids would sit there and ask me mom, why are you crying?"

She had just left a husband who drank too much and abused her -- a relationship that broke her.

"I'd have people say you're so gorgeous, you're beautiful, you can do a lot with your life," said Martinez. "I was just like yeah, thank you. But I never believed it inside."

With nowhere to live, she and her kids bounced from place to place.

"We didn't have stability in our lives," said Martinez.

But that changed when she turned to Vicki McGee.

"Vicki is just a wonderful person," said Martinez.

The two met several years ago at church and Martinez had confided in her when she was having problems with her marriage. This time around she was looking for advice on how to get back on her feet.

"I just kind of helped guide here through where she needed to go whether it's the housing authority or the workforce center," said McGee.

McGee is the Executive Director of Hope of the Grand Valley -- a non-profit whose mission is to help people in need.

"If I don't have anything to give them, I can pray for them," said McGee. "I can talk to them and they can call me anytime."

She says she helped point Martinez to the Grand Junction Housing Authority and a special voucher program it offers to people in her situation. It was through that program she and her kids got their house.

"She helped me out a lot, telling me what resources are out there," said Martinez.

The support didn't end there. When they moved in, Hope of the Grand Valley helped the family get furniture, dishes, and other household items that had been donated by community members. Then at Christmas, they received food, presents, and decorations through Hope's Adopt a Family program.

"I just didn't know how much [support] was out there," said Martinez.

Martinez says it was the foot in the door she needed to get her life back on track.

"Now I can walk around saying I love myself, I'm a good person, and I'm a very good mom," said Martinez.

"It's an amazing experience for me to see Antoinette grow from when I first met her," said McGee. "She is strong, she is confident."

Now, when she's not working on her GED, Martinez is out looking for a full time job.

"[The help] doesn't come to you, you have to search for it yourself," said Martinez. "That being said, you have to make sure you don't give up and think that everything needs to be handed to you in life. You need to continue striving for your goals in life and complete them."

As she looks towards a brighter future, she says she's glad she had the courage to leave the bad times behind and to take that first leap of faith asking for help. But the most important lesson she's learned --

"There's always hope," said Martinez.

Hope of the Grand Valley is just one of many local organizations that provide assistance to people in need. If you're struggling and looking for help, McGee says a good place to start is the Western Colorado 211 hotline. You can reach them by calling 211 from a landline or 1-888-217-1215.