Someone Believed in Me

“I had the most awesome, wonderful case manager in the world.”

When Addison first came to Calvary, it was hard for her to adjust. “I was a hot mess,” she said. She had recently lost someone she loved. On top of that, she had just started her journey to long-term sobriety after spending years battling addiction.

Like every woman who comes to Calvary, Addison was connected with a case manager who worked closely with Addison on her goals. Their meetings were not always easy. Addison said that at first she didn’t want to listen to her case manager.

Eventually, Addison realized that her case manager’s “tough love” approach was helping her to stay sober, focus on her goals and think about the direction where she wanted her life to go. “I realized that someone believed in me. She saw progress in me when I couldn’t,” she said.

Addison was one of the first women referred to Step Up DC. She talked about her career goals with Calvary’s job developer and they worked on her resume together. Like many people, she felt anxiety about being interviewed. After doing a few mock interviews with staff at Calvary, though, her confidence grew.

These experiences came in handy a few weeks later, when Addison started to hear back from employers where she had sent applications. She accepted a full-time job as a hospitality assistant at a hospital. She says that she loves her job, especially working with older residents.

Addison moved out of Calvary into a transitional housing program that is much closer to the hospital where she works. She plans on moving into a single room occupancy unit soon. A single room occupancy option can be a healthy transition for people like Addison who are moving from homelessness to independent living.

After achieving so much in the last nine months, Addison said that she is excited to push herself and see how much further she can go.