Life sometimes gets in the way of striving for your goals. Jennifer experienced this as she worked with our IPS Supervisor, Grayce Gadson, to change careers. Jennifer came from outpatient treatment with some college and fast-food job experience. She had previously risen to assistant manager at two McDonald’s. But she recognized that those jobs in chaotic environments were not good for her health. The pace and atmosphere raised her anxiety; she wanted to do something different, in a quieter environment. Working with Grayce, Jennifer decided she would like to try clerical work.
The job search began immediately, but the bills did not wait. Jennifer went to her standby, McDonald’s, to keep a steady income. But just having a job is not what our team wanted for Jennifer. We work to assist people to find jobs that will help in their recovery and move them toward long-term goals. Grayce diligently kept looking and found a downtown law firm that had a file clerk/data entry position open. Grayce believed Jennifer could healthily excel in this position. Jennifer interviewed for the position and got the job!
But that’s not the end of the story, because Jennifer faced a familiar stumbling block when it comes to working downtown – parking. It’s limited and expensive. Jennifer had the transportation to get to her new job, but not the means to pay for parking. Grayce was on a mission to help Jennifer succeed and began researching options to help Jennifer. Grayce learned about a system that allows inexpensive parking at specific stadium lots and provides a shuttle to get workers into downtown. Jennifer is now on her way to regaining her independence as she masters her new job.
