When she was a teenager, Elizabeth Ford, of Purcellville, Virginia, made a promise to herself: Never be homeless and hungry again. Her mother suffered from mental health issues and struggled to hold a steady job, leaving Ford to basically fend for herself. She was kicked out of middle and high school for fighting and using drugs. She spent her days asking customers outside a 7-Eleven convenience store for quarters so she could scrape up enough to buy a hot dog, pizza and nachos. Nights, she couch-surfed at friends’ houses.