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- Lorraine
- Tami
- Kyt
- Cheri
- Mary
- Sara
"My first day at WWEE was the first day of the rest of my life. I learned to
have hope...and I learned to believe in ME." |
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WWEE Success Stories
On your next trip to a bookstore, a children’s book by a WWEE graduate might catch your eye. Tami wrote Mommy, Please Listen, from the perspective of a child who is a victim of abuse and she hopes to publish it on a large scale soon. Tami has earned her success, prevailing over difficult experiences. After a divorce she found herself unemployed and lacking the means to support her three young children.
The Department of Social and Health Services recommended her to WWEE, where she found a “social lifeline” and support group, which gave her a needed boost. Tami enrolled in WWEE’s Reaching Employability & Achieving Career Habits (REACH) and Computer Applications and Career Development (CACD) programs. “CACD gave me skills needed to get a job, and helped with my job applications,” Tami explained. More importantly, however, she increased her self-esteem. “Shelby [McCulloch, Education Specialist] taught me to believe in myself; that you determine things that happen to you. I used to take what everyone said [about me] as true—but I learned that it’s just someone’s opinion, and you can take or leave it.” In addition to Shelby, Tami added that Employment Consultant Sherry Cotton impacted her life. “She showed compassion for me. I felt cared about. Talking to other adults felt good, because I was so isolated.”
After graduation Tami interned as a case investigator for the City of Tacoma. “I loved and enjoyed that job, because I could help people,” Tami noted. It was there that she noticed fliers about domestic violence on the wall, and finally realized that being a victim of this crime, which she’d experienced in her first marriage, was not normal. Tami entered counseling and began to write in a journal as a part of her self-healing. “I wrote about how I felt, how kids would feel,” she said. “I explored [my feelings], and opened up.” From these entries Tami composed her book, which has already been published on a small scale by Parental Stress for Child Abuse. “I hope to continue writing, and stay at home with my kids—I enjoy doing that most …Whatever you say you can do, that’s your limit.”
For the privacy and safety of our participants photos have been omitted.
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Copyright© 2007 Washington Women's Employment & Education
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