Empowerment Moves People Out of Poverty
Burst for Prosperity Stories - Sherry Williams
Now a successful nonprofit executive, Sherry Williams was once a teenage single mother on public assistance. A passionate advocate for Burst for Prosperity's Prosperity Coaching, she knows first-hand experience what a difference empowerment can make in people's lives. The daughter of a struggling single mother, Sherry herself became a single parent just before her 18th birthday. She went on public assistance but eventually completed the Washington Works training program in office and administrative skills.
Through determination and hard work, Sherry succeeded in empowering herself – often acting against the advice of caseworkers – to rise out of poverty. She is now the vice president of Burst for Prosperity’s Advisory Board and the deputy director of the Technology Assistance Foundation (TAF), which works to support children of color in their education. Here's what Sherry has to say about her experience:
"I see coaching as ‘If you were to create your road map to success, what would that map look like?’"
I became a single parent at a very young age; my son’s father was murdered. I also have a background of generational poverty. My mom was a single mom of four kids, struggling all the time. And then of course I did what she told me not to do: I got pregnant. I was constantly trying to find work. I found a training program but had to go back on public assistance while I was on work training, knowing that if I could just complete the training, I would not be back.
I had a horrible time when I was on the system, and a lot of that was due to the caseworkers. It was always them directing me, and whenever I didn’t do what they wanted, there were consequences. It was difficult empowering myself to go above their head. I was successful, but only because I pushed myself. What if that person had said, “What do you think you would be good at?” That would have been much more helpful, because I know my strengths. Or maybe they could have helped me figure out what my strengths are.
At one point as I was going through the job training program I went down to Olympia to testify on welfare reform. I remember looking at the committee and saying, “I’m no different than your wife who sends your child to school with a lunchbox. I want that life, too. I want the picket fence and the car. I had no idea these things were going to happen to me. I made some mistakes, but do I need to pay for that forever? None of you is perfect either, so quit looking at me like I’m a pie chart.”
I think Burst for Prosperity’s coaching is so valuable because a lot of times there are no ongoing training for caseworkers. Once you become one, you just keep going, but at some time with that kind of work you can really get burnt out. If you don’t have additional tools, you can get really bad at your job. I think we have to continue to make change on the ground. We need more programs like coaching and we need more people that care about people to be involved in the process. Politicians often are so far removed that they don’t stop to look at the people involved, and it’s not close enough to home.
I did learn from my mistakes, but in order to succeed against the odds you have to be someone who cannot be beat down, someone who can fight for your own rights. When you’re a single mom with four or five kids, for example, a lot of the time you can’t do that. You’re so exhausted just from taking care of them. Every person is unique and different, so coaches and decision-makers need to look at them as individuals, not as a folder of information.
What the coaching does is really help the people working on the ground that are directly impacting clients. A lot of times they’re overwhelmed, overworked, and just don’t have a ton of resources. I see the coaching as an expansion of resources to help them get tools to help support the client. I really see the coaching program as saying, “I know what you have to do.” It’s about acknowledging what clients are up against and helping them sort through that in a way that says, “Here’s how you can be more effective. Here are some tools that can be of additional help for you.”
The goal is for case workers to work with their clients and find options that will help them be successful in life and not end up saying after two years, “I’m working in a dead end job and have to go back to public assistance.” I see coaching as “I’m going to put you in the driver seat. Talk to me about what you need, what resources do you need to be successful? If you were to create your road map to success, what would that map look like?” It’s about having the caseworker be more the listener rather than always be the driver.
Sherry Williams is a supporter of the Burst for Prosperity’s Prosperity Coaching model.
