Written by Rob Stewart This will be tough. Tough to put into words the powerful, life altering, joyous event I and hundreds of others had the pleasure to witness last week, the 2016 Employment Training Graduation of Saint John’s Program for Real Change. I have been emceeing events for 20 years, mostly in the past…
Read MoreExperiencing Gratitude with Jessica L.
Born to a family of addicts, Jessica began to drink heavily after her brother passed away from an overdose. Shortly thereafter, two cousins were shot and killed in separate incidents, all leading to an addiction to meth, add the loss of her job and her home, and an abusive relationship. She began to sell meth…
Read MoreGrantee Develops Big Data for Big Change
Originally posted at www.wheatridge.org In March 2016, Amy was at the lowest point of her life. Recently released from Sierra Vista Mental Health center after attempting suicide, she knew she needed something different to break her 15-year cycle of addiction. “I just couldn’t go to another recovery home,” she remembers. “I thought: this is it…
Read MoreWhy is Real Change So Difficult?
written by David Flanagan Many people celebrate the new year by writing down a list of new goals and resolutions for change — I’m going to lose ten pounds. I’m going to be a better parent. I’m going to wake up earlier and go running. And more often than not, even the most well-meaning advocate…
Read MoreDocumenting Real Change with Elisha
I am nervous. I am about to meet Elisha, a 33-year old mother of four and a participant in Saint John’s Program for Real Change. I have been asked to document her life story. Perhaps she is as nervous to share her history as I am to chronicle it. Founded in 1985, the Sacramento-based Saint…
Read MorePursuing Clarity with Jackie T.
Addicted to meth and alcohol, Jackie started using at the age of 13. Moving through her addiction from Las Vegas to Riverside to Sacramento, she ultimately lost custody of her children, suffered from domestic violence and depression and ended up homeless. She knew she needed help, but the pain and devastation she had suffered had…
Read Moredemonstrating tenacity with Grace J.
“Saint John’s taught me how to peel back the layers so I can heal – that’s just what I needed.” A meth addict for 10 years, Grace found herself homeless and lost her children to CPS. After her first stint at Saint John’s several years ago, Grace was clean and sober, earned her GED, was…
Read MoreSAINT JOHN’S 10th ANNUAL TEA FOR REAL CHANGE SET FOR MAY 18
Event to Honor 2016 Mothers of the Year, Sacramento River Cats CEO Susan Savage and Saint John’s Alumna Alicia Portillo Sacramento, CA, May 6, 2016 – Saint John’s Program for Real Change, Sacramento’s largest shelter and the only one focused exclusively on women and children, will hold its 10th Annual Tea for Real Change on…
Read MoreSAINT JOHN’S RALLIES SUPPORT FOR BIG DAY OF GIVING MAY 3
Plates Midtown, run by Saint John’s Program for Real Change, to Serve Free Food and Drinks to Donors on May 3 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Beginning at midnight on May 3rd, 2016, the Sacramento community will come together for a 24-hour fundraising challenge, the BIG Day of Giving! Raising nearly $9 million last…
Read MoreChoosing to be at Saint John’s
It’s been just over a year since I left behind a lifelong career working in Finance, HR and Operations in the high-tech world. Something about hitting that mid-century mark in life, getting two of three kids through college (and the third well on her way), and having achieved a C-suite title at a tech start-up…
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