LOS ANGELES – This success story starts with “thank you” written on a handmade card by Ana Zimmermann two years ago when she was living in a homeless shelter.

“We were required to make a lot of thank you cards for donors,” Zimmermann said, at her apartment in Los Angeles as she hand-painted a card.

Something about crafting lit a spark, and now Zimmermann makes cards by the hundreds. She works with wax and any materials she can find, creating handmade cards she sells for a couple of bucks that add up to financial security.

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“It would be hard if I didn’t have my business,” she said. Zimmermann still has a day job, but her side hustle is vital to making ends meet.

It is all thanks to a pilot program from an organization called “Free From,” as in free from harm. The program has helped two dozen domestic violence survivors turn their passions into profit.

“Surviving harm and even homelessness requires a lot of creativity, a lot of initiative,” said Tannia Ventura, a mentor who worked with the women to make business plans and learn to do their own accounting.

Just one month into the 2017 pilot, every single woman was making money.

Now, a new partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development will expand the program, now called LA: EnterpRISE. Grant funding will help train more mentors to help about 200 small business owners get off the ground, and even secure micro-financing if they need it.

“Every Angeleno should have a chance to nurture their talents, pursue their dreams, and earn an income,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said. “The goal of LA: EnterpRISE is to empower people in need – to give them the support, training and encouragement they need to start a new chapter.”

When Zimmermann started making cards, she had already been through a lot. She left her home country of El Salvador for a better life for her kids. Then, she left an abusive relationship.

“I was just trying to survive,” she said.

All these years later, she is crafting much more than cards. She is building a business and a new life on her own.

You can order Zimmermann's card through her Instagram @ellig13.