The Green Forester

Soultana’s Struggle

Back in 2014, Soultana’s life had narrowed to a single bedroom. She had just moved back in with her parents, sharing the small space with her young son. She’d left behind a broken Volvo she couldn’t afford to fix and was starting over—again. A new job at Granite State Independent Living brought purpose, but at just $9 an hour, it barely covered necessities. The idea of affording car repairs? Out of reach. “I would’ve needed three paychecks just for the parts,” she recalled.

A Subaru to the Rescue

Through the New Hampshire Employment Program (NHEP), she learned about Good News Garage’s Wheels to Work program. And on September 26, 2014, hope rolled back into her life in the form of a green 1998 Subaru Forester with 160,000 miles on it. “I loved it,” she said. It wasn’t just a car—it was independence.

With that Forester, she could finally pick up her clients, getting to their homes on her own time. She could take her son to daycare, to soccer and baseball nearly every day. The beach trips—those were big. “We didn’t think we were going to be able to do that anymore,” she said. The car also got her to doctor’s appointments, where she was being treated for cancer. “Being able to get there, to my surgery—it made all the difference.”

Coming Full Circle

A year later, she and her son moved into a new apartment. Slowly, life began to rebuild. Today, her son is heading to college to study computer engineering, and Soultana herself has come full circle—now working at Good News Garage since November 1, 2024.

“The sound of happiness in a recipient’s voice brings back all those good memories for me—the relief of getting that phone call,” she said. Now, she’s the one making those calls, connecting donated cars with people who need them most. “People don’t realize what a difference a car can make. I’m glad I get to be part of that.”

For Soultana, and for so many others, Good News Garage wasn’t just about transportation—it was about transformation.