Jean and Sedrick-- Women’s Renaissance, Project Paycheck
“I am excited about the future,” says a beaming Jean, a recent graduate of the Weingart Center.
For most of us, that sentiment rolls easily off the tongue, but it’s taken Jean a long time to utter those words.
Jean and her husband, Sedrick, who also recently graduated from the Weingart Center, relocated to California from Arkansas, hoping for a fresh start. Drama, however, seemed to be a constant companion for them.
Homeless
Homeless upon arriving in the Golden State, they moved into a shelter with their children. “The kids were upset about being in a shelter,” admits Jean. “They felt like they were in jail, and they were missing school and missing medical appointments.” When one child fell out of bed at the shelter, all of their children were put into foster care.
Drug Addiction
Pulling themselves together and regaining custody, the family entered a transitional program. Jean was unable to work because of her children’s court-ordered appointments with therapists and social workers. Sedrick failed to provide stability for his family because of his frequent drug problem and kept arrests that led to eviction because the property had a zero tolerance drug policy. “We thought we could fight the eviction,” recalls Jean, “but we lost our kids again and when our funds ran out, we had no options.” Jean and Sedrick were once again homeless.
Sedrick needed help with his addiction and voluntarily entered a drug treatment program. While her husband was dealing with his substance abuse issues, a friend let Jean live in a truck shed for 18 monhts. “During this time, everything was an issue,” remembers Jean, “money, food, even hygiene because there was no shower.”
Child Abuse by a Foster Parent
As if her situation wasn’t bad enough, Jean’s eldest son informed her that his younger, autistic brother was being physically abused by their foster parent. Even as a homeless mother, Jean’s maternal instincts to protect her offspring kicked in. Jean decided to prosecute and now the individual can no longer accept foster children. That was a victory, but stability for the family was still out of sight.
The Weingart Center Helps
Life got brighter once Jean and Sedrick found their way to the Weingart Center, a homeless services agency providing transitional housing and an abundance of services to help homeless men and women get back on their feet and realize that fresh start so many hope for.
“The Weingart Center provides structure,” states Jean. “I didn’t have to worry about where to stay, and their employment services are very helpful.” From having computer access for sending emails to getting help with her resume, the Weingart Center prepared Jean for her job search. “They do everything they can to meet our needs. They go above and beyond,” adds Jean. Jean landed a job as a message clerk at the public library, a job she always wanted, and she credits the Weingart Center’s customer service training with helping her ace the interview.
Sedrick had more challenges to overcome to find much-needed stability. Although he had gone through a drug treatment program before coming to the Weingart Center, he needed help maintaining his sobriety so en enrolled in the Weingart Center’s Matrix substance abuse program. “The counselors were there for me through all my trials and tribulations,” says Sedrick. “I’m grateful for the Weingart Center.”
The next goal was helping Sedrick find a job. “The Weingart Center gave me back motivation to look for work,” says Sedrick. Motivated he definitely was, completing all of the onsite job training programs the Weingart Center offers— customer service, custodial service, ServSafe and security guard card training. In addition to receiving help with creating his resume, Sedrick received assistance when appealing his background check for acquiring a security “guard card”. Not long after the successful appeal, Robert was all smiles walking to the elevator in the Weingart Center. The reason for his expansive grin? He had just accepted a job as a security guard.
Looking Forward to the Future
Today, Jean and Sedrick have many reasons to be excited. They are both steadily employed and just moved into their own apartment. They’ve enjoyed unmonitored visits with their children for a year and hope to regain custody within the month. “We are blessed that our children have not lost all respect for us,” candidly states Jean. “They have a little resentment but I think they still trust us.”
What does the future hold for Jean and Sedrick? She wants to be a paralegal and help homeless mothers and their children, and says she is “more focused that I ever have been.” As for Sedrick, he is looking forward to owning his own business and buying a house for the family in a few years. “Everything I have gone through has been a learning experience,” says Sedrick, “and it has proved to me what is most important… my family.”
