Jake had experienced homelessness on and off as a child, but after settling into a comfortable career as a financial analyst, homelessness was a distant past. Health issues slowly turned Jake’s life around, leading Jake to be unable to work, losing his job, and soon, his home. After a period of instability, Jake came to Our House’s Career Center to find work again and checked into our Shelter in April. The Career Center team helped Jake start to put the pieces of his life back together – helping with job search, getting back on health insurance, and finding transportation. Jake’s ultimate goal is to get back into the financial field, but not having a driver’s license is a big barrier to employment at many places. For now, Jake has a steady job at Goodwill where he works as a production assistant, and the Career Center is able to provide monthly bus passes for transportation. Jake has been diligently working on his savings and is almost halfway to his goal to get his driver’s license reinstated and have his own vehicle again.
“Our House is a place where you’ve got to be willing to work on yourself,” Jake says. “You have to pinpoint your personal failings, but once you do, Our House can help you overcome them.”
Jake has settled into life in our Housing programs, and he has enjoyed taking classes offered by our mental health team to work on his confidence and interpersonal skills. One of Jake’s other goals while he stays at Our House is to open his own brokerage account. While he knows he has the necessary skills and knowledge, he has been afraid to push himself after the experience of losing his job. But as he continues to head down the right path towards stability, Jake is regaining his courage and is well on his way to meeting all of his goals.