A New Hope Housing case manager shared this story about a client she served:
“Working as a case manager with New Hope Housing, it’s sometimes difficult for me not to be disheartened by the lack of progress that I feel my clients have made. I hope that the following story reminds us all to RELISH and RECOGNIZE the accomplishments of residents.
In the Partnership for Permanent Housing, we recently had a resident graduate from the Training Futures program, an intensive six-month program. The resident, “Esther”, graduated on February 2nd and was nominated for Training Future’s Leadership Award. The Leadership Award is voted on by the entire training class and honors the person that they think has best displayed leadership qualities throughout the training cycle.
Not only was Esther given the Leadership Award, but she was also asked to share her inspirational story with all the graduates and graduation guests. She gave a moving testimony, citing William Ernest Henley’s poem, “Invictus”, and spoke about rising above circumstances to take control of her future.
I have had the opportunity to witness Esther blossoming into a more confident and self-assured individual. She is no longer afraid of public speaking, and she has opened her heart to others in the class by helping them strengthen their computer skills. She is striving for greatness and is well on her way to putting her past behind her. Gone are the days when she became homeless because she had been laid off from her job (a few days after Christmas) as a single mother and unable to afford the rent any longer, was evicted. Gone are the days that she and her son spent at the Mondloch family shelter. She now has an entirely new outlook on life and is hopeful for what her future holds.”