Despite facing seemingly insurmountable odds, William showed neither despair nor desperation. From his first moments sitting down with volunteers at LIFT, William displayed an upbeat attitude and a targeted understanding of what he needed to do—"Find a job and move on to housing!"
William and volunteers assessed his immediate needs, but also discussed his larger goals, including his ambition to be a successful chef. William worked with volunteers to refresh his résumé and highlight his experience in various kitchens and with catering services, and from there, William returned regularly to the LIFT office to work on first finding a stable source of income, and then continued work on his ideal position working in a restaurant.
Equipped with an armful of résumés and unwavering determination, William made fast progress in his employment search. "It only took initiative and faith in God," William says, but he credits the LIFT volunteers with bolstering his confidence through their positive encouragement. Within the second and third weeks, William had submitted several résumés, and by the third week, "jobs were answering." He landed a part-time job as a greeter at a local Wal-Mart and continued scoring interviews for food preparation positions. Soon after, it was William’s confidence that was inspiring LIFT volunteers: "[His success] made me more confident in my abilities to help others help themselves," says volunteer Cammeo Watson.
William returned to LIFT recently to express his thanks to the volunteers for helping him with his employment search. He was enjoying his job as a greeter, but did not intend to stay a greeter for long. Within a matter of weeks he had moved from part-time to full-time and now sees bright prospects for advancement opportunities. William knows that it will take time to accomplish all of his goals, but he has the steps and the skills necessary to do so. He currently is looking into employment with hospitals in the food service department because he likes interacting with people, and hopes one day to obtain more education, saying, "[I want to achieve] positive change. I’m looking for bigger and better things."
