Real Potential

It is only Tuesday, and already I am counting down the days to the weekend. This feels like such a long week! Ironically enough, not because of my clients. Esther has been working on remediation and digital literacy, and I am working on getting her a bus pass though the County Assistance Office. I need to find out if everyone I am working with is on some type of benefit plan, because these bus passes sound like a great opportunity for people. On hot days like today and yesterday it is not even safe to walk that far to get to CareerLink! I am so excited for Esther though, because I really think she can take the WorkKeys test (whenever that actually happens!) and get placed into a great job.
Monday morning I met with Catherine to sit through orientation and get her started with the Ready to Work program by just giving her some background information. We had a chance to sit down again today with Bobby Joe and briefly discuss the program and her intentions. Catherine really is so excited about this program because she needs the opportunity to relearn certain skills, work on her math and computer skills, and get into a well-paying clerical job. At the end of our meeting, she actually hugged me good bye for helping her so much. I didn’t even know how to react, because I really didn’t feel like I had helped her much at all (she came in with a resume, knew how to use the computer, and was already enrolled on CareerLink…. All I did was sit with her and talk with her a bit, promising to help her along the way). It really did make me truly happy when she hugged me though, because she really was so appreciative of, well, I don’t even know what exactly. It seems like with that kind of enthusiasm it is impossible to fail!
We met with Danielle today as well. I helped her with her resume and the CareerLink enrollment and got to talk with her about GED and about her boyfriend. Bobby Joe asked her how she ended up in the shelter (I really owe her one for that, because I always wonder but don’t really feel like it is my place to ask… and a lot of times I don’t want it to be my place. I want to be another resource they have that isn’t judging them, or asking them questions that I wouldn’t want to be asked if I were in their positions. But of course I am always curious!), and I got pretty upset when I heard her story. She just got out of the state hospital, didn’t have anywhere else to go, and ended up at the emergency shelter. While there she met her boyfriend, who she has now been dating for 4 months and living with in the shelter, and who she plans on moving into an apartment with. She really has potential—she is so young, pretty smart, has really strong interpersonal skills and knows how to present herself professionally (she was better dressed than I was today!). She also has a job, has been a supervisor before, and just seems to be struggling with some mental health issues that she is working hard to control. Bobby Joe is going to help set her up with welfare assistance, but I think both of us were pretty disappointed to hear that she planned on moving out of the shelter with him. Especially since she mentioned earlier that things weren’t wonderful between them! I am still amazed when I hear how much these relationships play into each other and influence their lives.