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Springing Forward: A Journey of Renewal and Resilience
Joseph Holliday was one of the first veteran tenants who enrolled in our program at Hollis Gardens. He was placed in a peer mental health counselor training, followed by an internship. He was hired by CASES, the organization where he completed his internship as a Peer Specialist. Life in New York City is expensive, so even with his $35,000-a-year salary, Joseph felt the need to pursue a part-time side job. The HRA Pathways program hired him as an education coach, and he started working at several of the housing sites we work with, assisting veterans and other tenants pursue their education and career goals.
Joseph helps participants at CASES’ largest alternative-to-incarceration program to secure stable housing. He was later promoted to Housing Specialist at CASES, and he received a raise in salary. He has been able to leap over the “benefits cliff” that occurs when someone with a housing voucher earns too much to keep the voucher, and he now can afford to pay rent on his own.
Joseph works with many homeless participants who may face additional challenges including untreated mental illness and/or addiction. Joseph believes that housing “answers so many issues for our clients.”
“Being housed allows participants to get back some of the pride that they lost in the shelter system,” he says. “Participants think, ‘I can start feeling good about myself again, and I can start making things happen.’”
Joseph is able to connect with clients through shared experiences.
“Say you’re in Paris on vacation,” Joseph explains, “and everyone around you is getting along, but you can’t relate because you don’t know French. And then you hear a voice, and it sounds like they’re from Texas. Automatically, you’re going to say, ‘Where are you from? Are you from the States? I’m from the States too!’ That’s what peers bring to this work. A participant can say, ‘I’m not from here, I’m from that world,’ and I can say, ‘Hey, I’m from that world too!’”
Joseph's thirst for personal and professional growth is unquenchable. He plans to pursue more schooling and attain his bachelor’s degree with the Lehman Adult Degree program. Lehman’s Adult Degree program has a long tradition of serving adult students. The undergraduate program assists adults 25 and older who have not yet earned a Bachelor’s degree and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies that offers students an innovative, flexible, and customizable path toward a degree.
“I’ve always been an advocate,” he says. “I’m always trying to help people be their best. I didn’t realize that was what I was always doing all along.”
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