The Good Life – May-June 2018

“When you can see an individual
go from nearly being homeless
to now working in a career and
coming home to an apartment
with his family, you can see the
good that can come of the work
that United Way does.”
— Amy Feland
was seeking help to keep him from becoming homeless but
instead noticed a poster for welding program.
“When I first met Eric, he was working, but at risk of
becoming homeless. He was sleeping on the floor in a small,
nearly empty apartment. With a felony in his background,
there was always a barrier between the jobs he wanted and
the ability to even get an interview. He knew he had to get
better skills,” said Amy.
With Amy’s support, for six weeks, Eric would spend eight
hours a day in a welding class provided by M State, work
a part-time job at a local restaurant and do his homework,
oftentimes until 3 a.m., before showing up the next day
for class. The hard work paid off, but wouldn’t have been
possible without support from Amy.
“For Eric and my clients, I just believe in them until they
believe in themselves,” said Amy.
“She kept encouraging me and helped me problem-solve
the issues in my life. I didn’t believe there were good people
in the world. But I guess I was proved wrong,” said Eric,
who is now proudly employed.
In April, Eric met his 19-month-old daughter, Aria, for the
first time and with Amy’s help found an apartment that
would be a better environment for him and his fiancé,
Leslie, to raise their little girl.
REMOVING BARRIERS FOR FAMILIES IN NEED
Mental Health. Transportation Child care. Housing. While
training programs do exist in our community, a person
living in poverty may not be able to access them because
of barriers that stand in the way for themselves and their
family.
“United Way is working differently. The goal of this twogeneration
model is to break the cycle of poverty by moving
the family toward economic security and addressing the
28 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com