This month, we would like to highlight a new, essential member of the AHFEID team, Ann McDermott. Ann joins us in the role of intake specialist, that key person who helps us determine the kind of assistance we can offer to individuals coming to us for help.
How did your interest in helping the issue of homelessness begin?
As a youngster, I would often see individuals outside in the cold and would often wish I could have a place for them to go. My mother thought I would work to become a nurse when I became older. Fast forward to 1997, I began working for Section 8 in 1997. In 2006 HUD closed the Section 8 office and I was transferred to H.O.P.W.A./Continuum of Care. I worked as a Case Manager/Housing Specialist. In my position, I worked with the delicate population (homeless, mentally ill, alcohol & substance abusers, veterans, etc). I assisted participants as they transitioned from the streets and shelters into safe, transitional, and permanent housing. I also connected my participants to services.
How did you connect with AHFEID?
I mentioned to a colleague I often worked with at the Women’s Resource Center that I was seeking part-time work at the shelter. My colleague shared an email from AHFEID and stated she is positive that I would be a good candidate for the position of Intake Specialist since it was exactly what I was doing.
What part of being involved do you enjoy most?
I enjoy helping individuals change their lives. Having someone come to you years later and say “Thank you for helping me”; means a lot to me. I don’t look at what I do as a job; I look at it as a mission.
Is there something from your background that makes this an especially important concern?
For me just my passion for helping people. One time I met a homeless veteran; his name was “Cowboy”. The neighborhood loved him. I always wished I could help, one day our agency was able to. To make long story short; my coworkers and I were instrumental in helping Cowboy off the streets, into the YMCA then assisted living, and eventually, we didn’t give up there; we connected Cowboy to his family. His family had always believed he was decreased. It was a touching moment that stuck in my head and heart. I have been helping Individuals such as Cowboy since 1997.
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