Unexpected
On the other side of the waiting room doors, a surprise was waiting for her.
She decided not to focus on that sad reality, but rather on helping someone.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. But I don’t know why you say you didn’t have any experience. Your jobs are incredible, and they are important.”
“Yeah, it’s all about presenting your experience in the right way.”
“I guess we were going so fast, I didn’t even notice the page was full! Thank you, Miss Sophia!”
“I always knew you were amazing!” his girlfriend said over the phone, Anthony’s excitement pouring over her.
“It was all because of her!”
“Of course! And there’s a lot more than what’s on that paper! And Michael, don’t forget just to be you and to show who you are.”
Today, many years later, Sophia still remembers the happy details from that one night, which brings a genuine smile to her face.
Resources:
Hope For Prisoners
hopeforprisoners.org
“Hope for Prisoners offers a variety of training programs for its clients to build and strengthen skills necessary for employment readiness, leadership development and success throughout the reintegration process.”
Sponsors Justice Reimagined
sponsorsinc.org
“Sponsors transforms lives and strengthens the community by providing life-changing opportunities for people with conviction histories. Sponsors offers a broad range of services—housing, employment, counseling, and mentoring—that people need to be successful.”
Pioneer Human Services
pioneerhumanservices.org
“We are a social enterprise that partners with communities to transform society by honoring the humanity of people, reducing the impact of discriminatory mass incarceration and empowering people to live safe, healthy, productive lives through inspiration, affirmation and by overturning barriers.”
Global Youth Mobilization
(globalyouthmobilization.org)
“Global Youth Mobilization is a movement of young people taking action to tackle global issues to improve their lives and their communities.”
Youth Service America
(ysa.org)
“We’re on a mission to: make working together for the common good the common expectation and common experience of every young person. At Youth Service America, we believe that youth, communities, and democracy thrive when we all work together for the common good.”
United Way
(unitedway.org)
“United Way uses its global reach and local presence to build stronger, more resilient communities where everyone can thrive. We work to improve the health, education, and economic mobility of every person in every community we serve.”
Global Youth Action Network
(gyan.tigweb.org)
“GYAN works to: facilitate youth participation and intergenerational partnership in global decision-making; support collaboration among diverse youth organizations; and to provide tools, resources, and recognition for positive youth action.”
Youth Ambassadors: One
(one.org)
“We empower citizens: the petitioners, protestors, and mobilisers who remain persistent, even in the face of resistance. We bring ONE’s campaigning expertise and decades of experience creating real, meaningful change, and we provide a megaphone to the world’s passionate advocates. Together, we relentlessly and effectively demand change from the people with the power who can make it happen.”
Sawa World
(sawaworld.org)
“Sawa World uses a locally-led and innovative approach to end global poverty.
We provide access to local solutions to employment that are found by youth living in poverty.
The youth have used low-cost and local materials to start small-scale eco-businesses that quickly generate income and transform lives.
These easy-to-learn business skills, can be learned in 1-day and provide instant self-employment opportunities for other youth, while protection in the environment.”
Freechild Institute for Youth Engagement
(freechild.org/)
“The Freechild Institute provides training, tools and technical assistance to support youth engagement in social change. Since 2001, we have partnered with more than 500 organizations in 1,500 communities affecting 1.5 million young people around the world.”
Oaktree
(oaktree.org)
“At Oaktree, we believe that every young person should have an equitable chance to reach their potential – no matter where they are born. We exist to empower young people to take their ideas for social impact and make it a reality. We ask our young people what the biggest issue in their community is to solve, we ask them what they think the solution is and we back them.”