“I stopped feeling the darkness.”
The following is told by Gisselle, an employed participant of Cara, April 2024 Cohort.
“Before Cara, nothing was working out for me. I made bad decisions in my life trying to make easy money. For a long time, I struggled with addiction and even sold drugs to support my habit. I had been an honor roll student in school; I wanted to be a journalist. I had all these beautiful goals, but I didn’t go through with anything. I never even got a high school diploma, and that weighed over me.
“This all caught up to me when I was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle and drugs.
“When I got out of prison, my probation officer referred me to Cara Collective. My first thought was that it was going to be another thing that I was going to fail at, that I wasn’t good enough.
“It was challenging at first to be around so many people and to begin to overcome my anxieties and fears. After a few weeks, I started to get the hang of Cara and how welcoming and supportive everyone was.
“I stopped feeling the darkness. Cara filled me with light. It was the total opposite of everything I’d been used to my whole life. I came into Cara with a big wall up, but the wonderful trainers and my coach, broke down a lot of those walls for me.
“I didn’t have to carry it with me anymore: that pain and stress. Everything that was going to hold me back from succeeding in life, I didn’t have to carry it anymore. That helped me take my next steps in moving away from my past.
“Today I’m working at Fitness Formula Club as a Housekeeper. I’m learning things at work that I never thought I’d be able to do. I have great technology skills that I never thought I’d have. Now I can manage, not just my own work, but other people as well. I feel like I am capable now and that the best is yet to come.
“These things all came for me because I started to believe in myself at Cara. I started to realize my potential and put these new skills into practice at my new job. It’s just been amazing, and there’s more yet to come!
“I used to tell myself I’m not good enough. Now I know I am dependable, efficient, friendly, and beautiful. Every day at work I see how much I’m needed. I am in my dream job right at this very moment and I have a future ahead of me. I am so beyond grateful.”
Your support this season makes an immediate, impactful difference in the lives of Cara’s job seekers. Transform a life this Season of Giving at www.caracollective.org/give.
