JFES

I wanted to express my huge gratitude to Lorie who over the last 7 months has worked tirelessly with one of my clients, Javonia Ricks. Javonia has been at 29 months when she moved to the Bridgeport CTWorks from Hartford. As we all know, there are always those one or two clients that seem to wiggle a way into your heart and Javonia has truly been one of mine. She has had a very rough few years and was a victim of domestic violence. After putting Javonia into JSST, I saw her confidence rise with working with Lorie and she really started to come out of her shell. Despite being knocked down a few times due to her record (she has a misdemeanor related to her dv situation) Javonia has learned to stand up for herself and fight back.

In February, when she would be hitting the maximum 32nd month, both Lorie and I knew that she wasn’t ready yet and if she could get a bit more time with us she would succeed. Working with Lorie and her DSS worker, we were able to get Javonia granted an unheard of 3rd extension. This enabled Javonia to continue to work with Lorie. Today, Javonia called both Lorie and I to let her know that she has been hired by BJs in Stratford and they are fast tracking her through cashier training to put her on track to become a supervisor!!! I couldn’t be more happy for her but I truly know that this would not be possible without all of Lorie’s hard work!

What Lorie has been able to accomplish with some of our toughest clients has been nothing short of remarkable and I am extremely grateful for this.

Megan M. Finlayson
JFES Career Advisor