Staff
Barbara Jones has been a Recovery Support Specialist (RSS) at Sojourner House for 15 years. Her commitment to the women and families at Sojourner House comes directly from her life experiences as the child of an alcoholic, her 28 years of sobriety, and decades of service in the mental health field. As an RSS, Barbara provides residents in recovery and their children with supportive services - including education and guidance during daily activities - while looking out for their safety. She previously spent 42 years working at Western Psychiatric Hospital. During 10 of those years, she worked at Sojourner House simultaneously. Though technically a retiree, Barbara intends to continue at Sojourner House. She believes that she was divinely led to our organization. We talked with … [Read more...] about An Interview With Barbara Jones
Cydney Anderson has been the Child Care Specialist for the families of Sojourner House since 2018. She was studying elementary education at CCAC when she learned about the role, and she has been here ever since. While the moms of Sojourner House work and grow in their recovery journeys, Cydney and their kids have fun and grow, too. We recently sat down with Cydney to hear about her role in her own words: With about how many kids do you work? Right now I have about three. On average, I tend to have about six. At one time it was about 12 of all age groups, from age 1 up to 12 years old. In a room full of children there is no such thing as a typical day, but what does your day “normally” look like? So I get everyone in the [child care] room and we say our good mornings. And then I ask … [Read more...] about An Interview With Cydney Anderson
Few people have worked with Sojourner House as long as Steven Renfro. Mr. Steve, as he is known here, has been our Property Maintenance Manager for almost two decades, maintaining the spaces that are most critical to our mission. His care helps to provide the women and families we serve with warm, safe living spaces while they heal, reconnect, and recover. Perfection for Inspection In 2002, Steve first found his way to Sojourner House through a family member and then employee. At the time, the annual Housing and Urban Development inspections were coming up. As Steve had years of experience as a contractor, he was recommended as a helping hand to enhance each of our properties. Steve was handed a long list of updates and upgrades, at which point he made a commitment to help Sojourner … [Read more...] about Meet Steven Renfro, aka Mr. Steve
Tracey White has served as the Lead Recovery Support Specialist at Sojourner House for six years. But that is not where her story with the organization starts. Sojourner House has played a part in Tracey's life for 26 years. In 1995, she started her recovery journey in Apartment 9. After she completed her six-month program, she said she didn’t want to leave. But she knew she had to. Knowing that she always did well in a structured setting, Tracey went to another recovery program for a year. There she found a job, found housing, and, in her words, “Never looked back.” Tracey celebrated 26 years clean on December 20th. You Can Go Home Again During her recovery journey, Tracey says that she learned that you can go back home again. After being clean for about 3 years, she came back to … [Read more...] about Meet Tracey-Ann White
We have good and bad news to share. Sojourner House’s Program Manager Dolores Mitchell, lovingly known as Ms. D, is retiring this month! With 22 years of service at Sojourner House, Dolores is someone we run to when we have a problem knowing she’s always happy to help. To celebrate her retirement, we chatted with Dolores to learn about her experiences and hear her advice. A Golden Heart for Human Services Dolores enjoys working with people and encouraging them to reach their potential. Before Sojourner House, Dolores worked with the Girl Scouts of the USA for many years. During her time with the Girl Scouts, she started a program to reach underserved girls and recruited leaders and troops. The moms of her scouts would volunteer to help, and a couple of the moms were dealing with … [Read more...] about Meet Dolores Mitchell