When I hear the word courage, I think of soldiers,
policemen, and fire fighters. However, most
days I relate more to the Cowardly Lion.
He’s not brave at all, and his own shadow could have scared him at the
wrong angle. He wants to be brave but he
hasn’t a clue how to go about it.
I felt that way.
In 2012, I separated from my husband.
Six months later I lost my job.
Despite having a college education and marketable skills, I spent a long
time unemployed. For a while I attempted
things on my own, with too little success and too few interviews. I knew the economy was rough, but had faith
that I would get the right opportunity in time.
When that didn’t happen, my house went into foreclosure proceedings and my
two boys and I became homeless.
At that point, we needed to rely on the kindness of
strangers for survival. It was January
of 2013. It was cold, and finding a
place to go in the winter is not easy. I
credit the United Way’s 2-1-1 information line with helping me connect with
Allegheny Valley Association of Churches.
We resided at their headquarters during the day, and slept in churches
in the Natrona Heights area at night. We
spent a month in their program while looking for something more permanent for
housing.
At that point we were accepted into the HOMES program at
HEARTH in the North Hills. This was a
huge blessing because we had our own apartment and a stable place to call home
while I worked on finding employment and getting us back on track to living
independently. In mid-February, I went
to the Information evening about the classes being offered by PA Women Work,
and I enrolled in two classes. I worked
on refreshing my Microsoft Word skills, updating my resume and practicing my interview
skills. I want to thank my instructors, Gail
and Nieves, for their guidance and inspiration to keep trying and not give up.
In August 2014 I finally obtained a full time job placement
at a health insurance company thru a temp agency. After six months, and with the kind words of
two supervisors about my skills, they made me a permanent employee. I cannot stress enough the idea that no one
can do it on their own. I couldn’t do it
on my own, and neither could the Cowardly Lion.
That’s what I think is so wonderful about his story – when Dorothy was
in trouble, he reached deep inside himself and – with the help of his friends
the Scarecrow and the Tin Man – found the courage he needed to overcome his
fear.
This is actually a special day for me for another reason.
Today marks one year to the day that we moved into our own apartment and
finally achieved true independence. In
some ways I still can’t believe that much time has passed. And in some ways I feel like it must have
been a horrible nightmare and not at all part of my story. If I had been by myself, I’m not sure if I
would be standing here today. What I
know is that having my two little boys – Gavin and Mason – depending on me –
and looking to me – helped me to reach deep inside myself and find the courage to
get out of bed every morning and keep fighting.
They are my constant inspiration and my reason for striving make our
lives better.
In the past two years, so many wonderful and caring
people have crossed our paths and helped us in many ways, both large and
small. We are just three of the many
people who have been positively affected by the mission of PA Women Work. I cannot ever adequately express my sincere
gratitude for this program. I can only
hope to find ways to pay it forward and help others. Thank you so much!
I was truly humbled by receiving this award. I feel like I just did what I had to in order for the three of us to survive. I would do it again if needed. If you would like to support an organization that empowers women and provides them with resources to succeed, this is it! No one can do this alone. Period. So I will put my shiny star on the mantle and it will help me remember that. 
Finding my courage,
Selina
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