Kelly
Kelly lost her house a few years ago when the restaurant she was working at shut its doors. Having fled an unstable household, Kelly was left homeless with nowhere to turn. At Thrive DC, she found a welcoming place where she was treated with respect and dignity. Kelly was later accepted into Thrive DC’s life-changing Real Opportunity employment program because of her strong desire to overcome her mental health struggles and because of the compassion she showed for other clients. Kelly received training in customer and human services, working side-by-side with staff to provide emergency assistance to the women in our evening program. Through Thrive DC’s individualized support, she obtained a social security card and birth certificate, completed computer training, and opened a checking account to save her money. She also began attending weekly psychiatric and counseling appointments and taking daily medication to help manage her mental health. With support from her case manager, Kelly was able to first move into a transitional housing program and then into her own apartment. We are proud to say that upon graduation from Real Opportunity, Kelly was accepted into AmeriCorps providing peer support to formerly homeless individuals.
Ralph
Ralph came to us unemployed and about to be evicted from his transitional housing. However, Ralph was determined to stay sober, obtain a job and find a new place to live. Working with our Employment Specialist, Ralph revised his resume, created and learned how to use an email account, and applied to several janitorial positions. Just 22 days later, Ralph accepted a position at Quality Touch, Inc. doing custodial work! We were excited to assist with clothing and transportation so that he could get to work until he received his first paycheck. Yet, Ralph could hardly celebrate the success of his employment when he knew he would be losing his home in a few short weeks. After an unsuccessful search of single-room occupancies, Ralph and his case manager were able to attain all required documents and applications for housing at an independent housing facility. Ralph was accepted into the housing and happily reports that he enjoys living there, continues to go to AA meetings, and has even increased his hours at his job. Ralph periodically still keeps in touch with his case manager, and most recently she was able to connect him to a set of pots and pans so that he could save money by cooking at home. Ralph told his case manager, “all my work money goes straight to the bank – I don’t touch it.”
