Mercedes - 4 Years Later

"Hello Ms. Jayne!"

It was the first time I had heard her voice in 3 years. Mercedes was in the pilot program at Cache Creek in 2015, and she was chosen for good reason. She was bright, charismatic, and certainly destined for something great. But she had lost her way. Struggling to stay in school, she was often late or didn't show up at all. However, she was one of the lucky ones. She ran away from home, and her grandmother had given her a nice place to land. Yet with everything she had going for her, we were unsure if she could get serious enough to graduate from high school, which she eventually did!

After the first session with ALMS, she was determined to get a job and keep it. Many of our Young people today don't seem to have a problem landing a job once they have the confidence to go for it. But they do have a problem with committing to something that feels like pressure. Their anxiety goes up, perhaps depression comes on, and all it takes is the wrong look, wrong word, or wrong circumstance for them to feel like they've failed, prompting them to walk off their job without a thought of the consequences.

Alms teaches that commitment to a job is just as important for the youth as it is for the employer. We tell them "each time you walk away and give up on employment, you are giving up on yourself. It becomes harder and harder to get another job." Not only does the young person fail to realize that a potential next employer is going to call the last person for a reference, but the same issue experienced on the lats job will probably reoccur in the new job also. We try to help students to understand how important it is to push through adversity and not give up.

I am so proud of Mercedes! She landed her first job while attending ALMS and remains an employee four years later. That was the first step.

Jayne Williams
Executive Director