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If you were to walk into Sarah
Armwood's small office at LSS in Minneapolis, you would find a very
professional woman. Your impressions would likely be these: college
graduate (good school), polished, intelligent, professional fast tracker.
Another Sarah Armwood is
there, too - one who has been jobless, desperate, homeless and fleeing an
abusive relationship, the kind of person LSS helps every day.
But Sarah never became
hopeless, since she has the innate ability to focus on a goal, and work
until she reaches it.
"As a teenager, I knew that
the restrictive environment of my grandparents' small-town home would not
work long-term," she remembered. While she loved them completely, and
valued the religious and spiritual upbringing they provided, she needed
her own space, and wanted to be like her aunt, who was a Chicago social
worker and married to a judge.
"When I visited them in their
Chicago home, I knew that life in the small town was not for me," she
said. With the help of her aunt and uncle, she enrolled in college at age
16. Within a few years, she had fallen in love with a professor, and they
had a child. Life was taking the form she wanted.
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Education
AND Personal Experience:
The Magic Combination
Even with 12
years of experience in the LSS Housing Services area,
Dawn Horgan is the first one to say that effective case
managers are often those who have been through the
client experience, just as Sarah Armwood and LaShunda
Cross have. "They are very sensitive to the situations
and services because they have experienced much of what
our single mom clients have," Dawn explained.
"Because of their first-hand experience as homeless
moms, we have been able to make program modifications
that we would never have thought of. You have to be on
the receiving end to judge whether or not the approach
is appropriate and respectful," she said.
"These
women stayed in touch with us over the years. We have
been honored to walk with them, and now we are honored
to consider them colleagues."
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professor lost his job. Sarah lost hers. The college closed. Within a
year, they lost their apartment. Desperate, they packed their bags and
headed by bus to Minnesota, where, they were told, jobs and
opportunities were waiting.
In Minneapolis, they lived in a shelter.
Their relationship worsened, and Sarah knew she had to "go it alone."
In her attempt to find a place to live, Sarah visited the Housing
Resource Center at LSS. It was a positive visit; she felt good about
this organization "because the people were kind to me," she recalled.
Fast-forward some months, and
Sarah was back in school while working part-time with a copy and building
services company named Beckwith, which served LSS with printing and
mailroom services. While making her "rounds" with the mail cart, she
learned that LSS needed a social worker to help homeless people find
housing and get established.
She recalls saying to herself,
"I can do that. I've been there. I know how this works. I know what these
people need. This job is perfect for me."
She got that job. And she has
held others over her 9 years of service to LSS. That type of enthusiasm
and "can-do" attitude has made Sarah a favorite among her co-case workers
of LSS Housing Services.
When asked why she wanted to
work for LSS, she said it was because of the work, and because of the way
she was treated when she first sought help at LSS. "I was always treated
respectfully, in a non-judgmental way," she explained.
That's the principle she uses
in her work at LSS. "The picture is not always what it seems," she said.
'"You have to find the person's real need to help. And sometimes, in
certain instances, you've got to hold their hand and give them the tools
and resources they need to help themselves. That's what happened to me
when I came to LSS for help."
"I want to encourage others
who find themselves in similar situations to not give up hope but keep the
faith, to get past the crises they face. Since I did it, I tell them that
it can be done. I am a witness that you can overcome a bad situation," she
laughed.
In her spare time, Sarah
Armwood is known as "Lady Sarah." She is a songwriter and singer of
gospel, blues and inspirational music. Watch for her in the local music
scene.
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