Tag Archive for: south sound

A Story of RISE

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A Story of RISE – Learn how our client Clay has worked with Employment Specialist Joseph Denton to make strides in his professional journey. Photo by: Matthew G via Flickr

 

Clay entered the Sound Outreach’s Resources to Initiate Successful Employment (RISE) Program in May 2017. Prior to his enrollment he had been unemployed five years, homeless for four of those years, and been in and out of jail. He attributes his inability to gain and maintain employment as a direct result of his ongoing battle with addiction, mental illness, and unresolved trauma.

“Before coming to Sound Outreach, I didn’t know what opportunities existed for me. Through working with this organization I was able to learn about several. Not only that, but I was also given some of the tools I needed to create opportunities for myself. I finally see that success is something I can achieve. Sound Outreach is a major influence in that discovery.”

Sound Outreach transferred Clay from RISE into the Center for Strong Families program where, for two years, he will have continued access to support in financial counseling and career development.

“Clay is an incredibly kind, ambitious, and bright young man who gave everything he had in an attempt to change his life for the better,” said Joseph Denton, Clay’s RISE caseworker. “Clay is a warrior.”

Since focusing on his recovery and keeping it his No. 1 priority, Clay has made huge progress. He recently celebrated nine months of continuous recovery.

That progress has helped Clay maintain his current job while simultaneously attending a six-week life skills hosted by Worksource Tacoma entitled, Strategies for Success. Coming from a diverse background in the Culinary Arts with “Sous Chef” on his resume, he quickly became gained part-time employment working as a line chef.

Upon completion of the Worksource program, Clay identified a career path of either Human Services or Medical Services. Driven by the need to help those less fortunate, he accepted an internship with Pierce Co. Aids Foundation (PCAF). He voluntarily provides outreach, educational, prevention services for our community.

Clay’s future ambitions are to continue his volunteer work at PCAF and he has enrolled in Tacoma Community College to begin his education in Nursing. Right now, he’s taking important steps on the way toward that goal. He works as a server at a Tacoma restaurant and is saving for his first car.

Thank you to Joseph Denton, Clay’s caseworker, for the text to this story!

Creative Commons-licensed photo courtesy of Matthew G.

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/