My Backstory
I had a very rough childhood and we moved around a lot growing up, but my family eventually settled in Virginia Beach, VA. I graduated high school early in 2003 and soon became a mom and started work right away after moving to Poway, CA — “the City in the Country.”
My first job was in customer service for a pen company, where I consistently ranked among the top performers and earned multiple awards. But when the company was sold, our jobs were shipped overseas. Overnight, everything changed.
Soon after, I learned I was pregnant with my second daughter — and despite applying everywhere, I couldn’t find work. By 2008, our family was homeless. That experience changed me forever. The fear, the exhaustion, the uncertainty — it’s something I’ll never forget. We eventually found a room to rent in Orange County, and programs like SNAP, WIC, and Medi-Cal helped us survive.
Even then, life stayed hard. We had no car, walked miles to get groceries, and relied on the public library as our refuge — a small place of peace and air conditioning when the world felt impossible.
We were robbed twice. I lost cherished things, including my pet rabbit. My marriage fell apart under the strain. After that, I made mistakes and found myself in jail — an experience that showed me just how broken and dehumanizing our justice system truly is. I swore I’d never end up back there, and I haven’t.
When I got out, I rebuilt. I went back to school for graphic design — something I’d always loved — and it changed my life. I met great mentors, lifelong friends, and my now-husband. Life wasn’t suddenly easy, but I found steady work again, eventually becoming a team lead at an answering service and developing a quality-improvement program that boosted office performance while I worked there.
Still, corporate buyouts and instability followed me. When my company transitioned to remote work, I lost my job after a brief power outage. A month later, I found out I was pregnant with my son. Once again, I couldn’t find work. We had to move in with my husband’s family in Downey to stay afloat — something I’ll always be grateful for.
I started my own small business in graphic design, creating logos, websites, and even opening an Etsy shop selling my arts and crafts. It was small but steady — until COVID hit. Like so many others, I lost everything I’d built up.
Since then, I’ve faced health challenges — fibromyalgia, severe depression along with a back injury — and our son was diagnosed with autism and ADHD. Medi-Cal kept us from financial ruin, and it’s not lost on me how many people aren’t as lucky to have that safety net.
Through it all, one thing has remained true: I know what it’s like to struggle — to work hard and still fall behind, to watch the system fail the people it’s supposed to serve.
That’s why I’m running for Congress. Because it’s time someone who’s actually lived it — who’s living it right now — fights for us.
I’m Gwendolyn “Gwen the Dem” Molina, and I’m running to represent California’s 41st District — because we deserve a government that knows what it’s like to be us.