Meet Sophia, an accomplished Supported Independent Living Case Manager who has been with us for seven years. Sophia supports individuals with an ABI by being there for them during major life changes and helping them acquire resources such as financial support, housing, medical appointments, and completing service plans.
What Sophia finds rewarding about her work is helping clients succeed with their goals. Tasks such as keeping a client’s apartment clean or assisting them in a job hunt may seem small from the outside, but for a client these are incredibly helpful and supportive measures. And Sophia has known for a long time that she wanted to make a difference in her community, no matter the size.
“When I was going to school for the second time, I always knew I wanted to give back to my community. I wanted to wake up every day and know that I was helping in some way. I could not just work on increasing the bottom line for a company. I wanted to make a difference either in a big or small way.”
Sophia also feels accomplished because of the goals she meets in other aspects of her work, such as when she presented the SIL program at an OBIA conference last year. Sophia represented her program and the important work that it is responsible for, while also being able to connect with others in the field. She saw the outreach the SIL program has, and how it is uniquely built to support the community.
Outside of work, Sophia enjoys being creative and makes jewelry, soap, and candles. She loves being in nature, and is especially connected to the ocean. Through doing things she loves, she maintains a balance between her work and personal life, and is an advocate for taking the challenges she encounters in her field one day at a time.
Through any challenge, she is committed to helping clients succeed and continue to prosper in their lives. “Decide what your ‘why’ is” she says, “And on the hard days try to remember it.”
Thank you, Sophia, for all that you do!