Tag Archive for: sound outreach

Decision to Thrive

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Eric describes his first meeting with Sound Outreach as intimidating for him. Even though he was ready to focus on being a role model for his three children and embrace his goals to “be successful in life,” he wasn’t convinced that strangers would invest in him and help him find his way.  That fear soon changed when he met with a counselor and learned about the services available through Sound Outreach, particularly the Tool Center (Trade Occupations Opportunity Learning Center). Operated by Bates Technical College and partially funded by the City of Tacoma, the Tool Center is a 13-week Pre-Apprenticeship program that prepares individuals for employment in the trades. Eric was quick to pass the entrance requirements and enrolled in the Tool Center. As part of his participation in the program, Eric was connected to a Sound Outreach financial counselor and soon realized he had found the qualified help he needed to guide his way to financial empowerment.

Eric came to Sound Outreach after a series of bad decisions landed him in jail.  Facing the possibility of losing his children, he made the decision while still behind bars to do whatever necessary to become a better father and a better man.

Upon his release from prison and after years of battling addiction, Eric enrolled in a chemical dependency program.  He attended parenting classes and got counseling for domestic violence.  He put himself on a path of improvement but realized he needed help as he took his next step – finding a career path and becoming a positive member of society.

Since graduating from the TOOL Center program, Eric has found a new sense of commitment not only to his family and children but to the community at large.  His high-wage job as an electrical worker would seem to be a landing point for some.  For Eric, it is just the next step forward.  His passion is to advise, mentor and be an inspiration for others. He’s already found a way to do so as he often shares his personal story at treatment centers and regularly visits new students in the Tool Center to be the example of “how to get over the bumps and find a better life.” 

Eric continues to grow in his career, working on more training and certifications. He now has his children with him full-time. And he says, for the first time since he was 19, he has a car, insurance, and his own credit card.  He hopes to one day buy his own home. With is undying enthusiasm, commitment, and willingness to grow, we have no doubt Eric will realize all his dreams for the future.

Sound Outreach is currently recruiting for the March 2020 cohort for the TOOL Center. If you are interested fill out an inquiry form to sign-up for an upcoming orientation.

Why We Call Our Work “Financial Empowerment”

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Talking about finances can involve hard painful moments. But there we were, on a Tuesday afternoon at a Sound Outreach financial coaching session with our client Justine Gordon – and we were laughing. Just a few months ago, that wouldn’t have happened, but along with new financial management skills, Justine was feeling something she hadn’t had in a while: trust.

Even though we were enjoying this particular session, Justine tells us it’s never easy to talk about money. “It’s a huge source of frustrations,” she says. “I’m 51, I’m poor – and I have a Master’s degree. I feel like I should have money.”

Justine came to Sound Outreach via our Center for Strong Families, where she received employment assistance. Our employment coach noticed her financial situation and connected Justine to Silke Bone, one of six accredited Financial Counselors on our financial empowerment team. Justine has been meeting regularly with Silke for over a year. Their relationship has taken time to grow, but now it is strong and based on trust, now they can laugh together. Even after Silke changed locations to meet with clients in Spanaway, Justine did not change counselors. She preferred to travel so she could continue her financial counseling with Silke.

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Justine had been working hard at reducing her debt, but without the right information, her efforts did not lead to positive outcomes. This is where Silke’s financial coaching has been most valuable. “Having somebody as an advocate who is available and accessible is extremely helpful because you don’t get that anywhere else,” Justine said. When she signed on with a debt consolidation company that caused more harm than good, Justine says Silke stepped in with precisely the advice she needed: it was not her fault, but she would have to take control of the process.

Silke encouraged Justine to be active in speaking to her lenders and banks so they can see her as an equal partner in resolving her accounts. Using that advice, Justine paid off thousands in debt by being in control of the debt consolidation process. Silke views her role as mainly keeping Justine on track and focused on concrete actions, but Justine thinks the counseling helped her in a way that went beyond finances: “I took the power back,” said Justine. “Silke made me feel no shame.”

Justine has made so much progress in a relatively short period of time. “I had no idea what credit is,” she said about her first attempts to tackle her finances. When she attended one of Silke’s free workshops on building credit, a switch flipped and she thought, “In our society, nobody offers that information. That is something everyone who has a credit card should go to.”

Justine truly inspires us with her persistence. We are proud to work with her on her journey toward financial stability. If you feel similarly inspired, please consider making a donation that will help Sound Outreach continue supporting our clients to help themselves. In addition to financial empowerment services like the ones Justine described, our entire Sound Outreach team is connected to a continuum of integrated services that help clients advance from insecurity to stability to prosperity.

For more information about our services and ways you can get involved, please visit www.soundoutreach.org/services/