Meet Keith
He’s transforming his life at Cara, thanks to your support.
What was your life like before Cara?
I had done a stint as a caregiver for my mother down state. A year or two after she died, I was living with my sister and I started having problems with my vision. I had developed macular problems. So I had to move back to Chicago, as I needed to live somewhere with public transportation. But when I got here, I realized a lot of the people I knew before were gone. So with my health declining, I found myself depressed and my stint as a caregiver left me with a big hole in my resume. So I sought counseling and that was how I learned about Cara.
Do you remember your first impression of Cara?
Motivations really takes you by surprise, but I stuck with it. Right away, it seemed like the people who had been here for a while were really liking the program. They didn’t seem to be trying to escape (laughs). It made me believe this was worth giving a chance.
Describe an important lesson learned at Cara.
One of the things I liked about Cara was that I needed something with structure for me to do well. So to be at Cara everyday at 8:30 a.m. to job search, where if I was at home I would get distracted and sit on the couch and do nothing, that was a big change for me.
What is your dream job?
I had always been curious about computers and tech. I was in a computer science and engineering program but I didn’t graduate but I like to try and share what I know with other people. I’m always that tech support for friends – installing home entertainment centers, helping with computers…I like to participate in the Microsoft answers community, where you answer questions people post online. I actually got to attend a summit and seminar with developers to find out what was coming up and I got to test software and figure out what was wrong. Bill Gates was the keynote speaker.
If you could go back to your first day of Cara and give yourself any piece of advice, what would it be?
Reach out more. I sometimes have issues with the avoidance of things. And it’s pretty much imaginary. That’s something I’m working on internally.
“Cara reminded me to stop and sing
every once in a while.”
How do you describe yourself today?
I’m more confident in my ability to present myself. I used to avoid things like mock interviews. I was wary of getting feedback but now I know it won’t be horrible and it will actually help me.
What is your go-to song in the Motivations circle?
I try to throw something different out there. Sometimes it’s TV theme songs, other times it’s “We’re Off to See the Wizard.” Cara reminded me how important music was to me and showed me why you should stop and sing once in awhile..
Keith is transforming his life. Learn how you can help him unlock his power and purpose by getting back to work.
