Cassandra’s Story

I was out of work for 6 months. I had already visited several other agencies in the area with no luck. I was upset that I hadn’t received help yet. I was so ‘done’ when I arrived for my assessment at Connections, but they treated me with kindness and I felt things could turn around. I work really hard to improve my situation and make a livelihood; I just needed a little help.

I met with my case manager, Travon. We need more people like him; I felt like I could talk to him about everything because he put me at ease. You can feel how much he cares about you, and we had a good understanding of our work after just our first meeting. I haven’t had this experience with other agencies. I asked for assistance with rent, but during my assessment I felt safe enough to share that I was behind on other things too. Travon gave me additional referrals for utility support and taught a budgeting class I attended. That class was very helpful and I continue to use what I learned that day. 

If Connections hadn’t existed, I’m not sure what I would’ve done. I guess I would’ve continued to see what our community supports are and hope they could help because I’m not a quitter. Fortunately, Connections could help and they identified additional community supports so I didn’t have to run all over the place and miss out on work. Supporters should know that their gifts aren’t going to waste at Connections. They’re really helpful and have good people. I had a great experience and know others will receive the same support and be better for it.

*Client name change to protect privacy.