Jackie’s Story
Life started to unravel for Jackie in 2004 when her crack use escalated from a few times a month to daily use at a cost of $150-$1500 daily. Her husband, whom she later divorced, had introduced her to the drug in 1999. Following her divorce, she had returned home to live with her family. To pay for her costly habit, she used her mother’s credit card without authorization and was later arrested on theft and forgery charges. Jackie was sentenced to the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio (CCNO). She attended business classes while she was incarcerated and learned of Aurora’s program.
Jackie was admitted to the Aurora Program on 10/29/09 at the age of 47. Born and raised in Sandusky in a 2-parent home, she became homeless for the first time following release from CCNO. During her time at Aurora, Jackie attended life skills, relapse prevention, and creative writing classes. With the assistance of Aurora’s Resident Accounts Manager, she also paid down her debt, filed for bankruptcy, and resolved a foreclosure issue on the home that she and her ex-husband had owned.
Jackie struggled with missing home and stated that “not having a job made her feel as if she had not progressed enough in her recovery”. The mother of two grown daughters ages 18 and 20, Jackie also struggled with the children in the house and finding quiet space.
In accordance with her case plan, Jackie began to attend computer classes at the Eberly Center in preparation for applying to college for a Hospitality Management program. She also began to search for employment and quickly discovered that a felony conviction was often a barrier to securing a job. This changed when she interviewed with Goodwill Industries on 5/3/10. Because one of the staff at Goodwill taught job readiness classes and understood the employment barriers to our residents, Jackie was one of two residents interviewed for open positions. She was thrilled to receive news on 5/10/10 that she had obtained the job!
Having income and having completed her programming, Jackie moved to Aurora’s Step Up units, one-bedroom and efficiency apartments located one block from the main facility, on 5/20/10. While still part of Aurora’s transitional programming, having her own apartment provided her with some privacy and served as a bridge between life in the main congregate facility and permanent housing.
In December, 2010 and with the help of her case manager, Jackie updated her FAFSA application for Spring semester and began to research schools for Hospitality Management programs. She began to make plans to return home to Sandusky, having the tools to maintain her sobriety and the self-confidence that she needed through employment with Goodwill.
Jackie exited the program on January 21, 2011 and returned home to her family, where she will begin school in May, 2011. Very recently, Aurora received a card from Jackie explain that she had come into some unexpected funds. Enclosed with the card was a check of a sizeable amount, an expression of gratitude for the services offered through Aurora.
