Sharon Finds Her Opportunity for Stability
About ten years ago, I was working a job in Skokie. My commute was long and exhausting. I would leave before sunrise, take multiple trains and a bus just to get to work every day. Around that same time, I left a difficult relationship that had become violent and moved into a new apartment.
Not long after, I became a mother, so I moved closer to my parents for support. I was working a good job but due to scheduling conflicts with my daughter’s school program, I made the difficult decision to leave that role.
It was very hard to find another job that worked with my schedule. As a result, I drained all of my life’s savings to pay the bills. It hurt me to do that, but I didn’t have any choice.
One day, someone at my daughter’s school told me about Cara. I was nervous at first; I didn’t know what to expect. Honestly, my first thought was, “What is this?” I assumed it might be like some of the ‘more-stuffy’ job readiness programs I had seen before.
There was definitely a fear of the unknown. But once I got involved, I quickly realized Cara was different. As soon as I saw the Great Wall, I knew I wanted to see my name up there. That was my goal.
The biggest challenge was taking a hard look at myself my own behaviors. Cara pushed me to reflect on what was helping me and what was holding me back.
Ms. Vicki was my trainer, and she taught me the word ‘no.’ I learned that I had to stop being a people pleaser because it was detrimental to me. When I started saying ‘no,’ I learned who was actually in my corner and supporting me. Cara also taught me about knowing the deepest truth of who I am. I know I’m somebody who wants to achieve my goals no matter what.
Once I completed my training at Cara, I began working on a Cleanslate crew. At first, it was a hard job. There were definitely days when I didn’t want to be out there picking up trash.
But over time, my perspective changed. People would stop and thank me for helping keep the city clean. I started to feel proud of the role I was playing in improving the community.
While working with Cleanslate, I continued my job search. I came in every week, worked with the team, participated in mock interviews, and applied for countless jobs. There were a lot of interviews along the way.
In September 2025, I was offered an Environmental Services Technician role with Lurie Children’s Hospital. When I was offered the job, I was so excited I was bouncing off the walls. I finally had full-time employment.
My job has given me stability. I don’t have to rely on others to pick up my daughter from school or camp. I’ve finally been able to catch up on bills and focus on moving forward instead of just surviving. To celebrate, I even treated myself to a ticket to a BTS concert. It represented how far I had come.
Without Cara, I would probably be on the floor of my apartment crying and trying to make ends meet working two part-time jobs. Thanks to Cara, now I am grateful, accomplished, and determined. I am really excited about what is next for me – going back to school, earning a bachelor’s degree, and taking the next step in my career.
I didn’t always see a clear path, and there were moments when I wanted to quit. But the people around me kept encouraging me to stay the course. One year later, I’m still at Lurie Children’s Hospital, and I achieved what I set out to do: My name is on the Great Wall.
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