Lynette Jordan
Lynette Jordan reads the words of Frederick Douglass, the great abolitionist, whenever she feels discouraged: “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
Lynette knows what struggle is all about. On Mondays through Fridays, she wakes up at 6:00 a.m., gets herself and her two children dressed, and then takes one-year-old daughter Kennedy to daycare and six-year-old son Khalel to his before-school program, all before arriving at work by 8:00 a.m. After work, she picks both children up, reviews their homework, prepares dinner and makes sure they get enough quality time with her before she kisses them goodnight and tucks them into bed. Then, it’s homework and study time for Lynette. On Saturday mornings, she attends class and then it’s church on Sunday mornings. Every Sunday evening, as she eats dinner with her children, she gets the same feeling -- a feeling of being on her way to a better tomorrow.
Lynette found ACHIEVEability in August 2007. At that time, she was a stylist’s assistant and procrastinating about starting college. After she became unemployed, she worked odd jobs for temp agencies and watched her bills pile up. She soon found herself applying for cash assistance from the county. She had never been the kind of person who asked for help. So when the county sent her to the Earn Center, she felt her life was over. But then her depression subsided and she threw herself into a job search. After filing many job applications, she was hired as a Data Specialist at Germantown Earn Center in 2008. She was quickly promoted to Quality Assurance Specialist and then to Peer Counselor at the Delancey Earn Center.
She is happy to be making a difference in the lives of other young women. In her counseling, she relates her own experiences to inspire and motivate her clients to move toward self-sufficiency. The positive change she witnesses is very rewarding.
Lynette’s children and their well-being drives her progress. She has moved from sleeping on a couch with her son curled up on a metal cot next to her and her daughter growing in her belly to having a three-bedroom apartment of her own. She came from being unemployed, or barely employed, to working a full-time job, with benefits, and being enrolled in college. Not too long ago, these were Lynette’s dreams and now they are her reality.
And the dreams keep coming. Since learning how to manage her budget and receiving a raise, Lynette now has savings accounts for each of her children. She also wants to take extra classes to speed up getting her degree.
She credits ACHIEVEability with supporting her success. Interactions with other single parents and the work of ACHIEVEability’s staff have fueled her accomplishments.
Chire Harden
When Chire Harden was in her drug and alcohol addiction, she met counselors who were staunch advocates for people trying to get their lives back together. They inspired her to give back what was so freely given to her. Chire has made it her life’s mission to help people with addictions and/or dual diagnoses to break free of their barriers and become the best people they can be. She says that her studies at Community College of Philadelphia, where she maintained a 3.92 GPA, will help her become an able practitioner in the behavioral health and human services field.
Going to college at this time in her life is not easy. Time is scarce and treasured. She works full-time as a school bus driver, is raising three children, and often stays up late to study. Money is limited and budgeting is difficult, but she tries to provide the best that she can for her children.
Chire is already helping people. While at CCP, she volunteered 12 hours a week at Belmont Center for Comprehensive Treatment. She was active with the CCP Behavioral Health/Human Services Club. She is also a member of ACHIEVEability’s board of directors. She initiated and continues to facilitate the Parents Networking Group at ACHIEVEability.
Chire feels blessed that her life, studies, career goals, volunteer commitments, and even her hardships, are blending beautifully together so that she can become a more productive member of society - one who makes a difference in people’s lives. Today, at 50 years of age, with the assistance of ACHIEVEability she has purchased her very first home!