Hello everyone! 

We have another humans update. 

One of our humans has big aspirations to own her own business and is learning along the way all of the work that goes into this endeavor. This individual is a “learning by doing” type of human, and though she has experienced setbacks, this human continues to have a vision for her future and push forward to reaching it. This human continues to stay connected and reach out to the team for support, even with her own projects going on. She continues working to best support the needs of her child and learn how to have healthy relationships. This human is also showing the “helper” inside of her more recently- supporting a fellow peer in court and giving genuine support to peers that doesn’t go unnoticed. 

One of our humans was fully onboarded as a Peer Humanity participant. He was able to meet more of the team and started diving in by working with the “Get Stuff Done” crew. He has also been working on things in his personal life, such as applying for and having a first meeting in alcohol court. He strongly wants to be a part of Alcohol Court as opposed to Criminal Court. He feels he is a good candidate as he recognizes that his legal trouble stems from alcoholism and thus wants to get help and move on to do great things versus being hindered by the criminal justice system. He has also started therapy for the first time. He has shared ambitions to do work in digital marketing in a way that helps individuals and society by creating a platform in which people can connect and share their stories. His long-term goals also relate to his interests in documentary and podcast creation.  

One of our humans has recently pushed through the many obstacles she faced in securing safe, stable housing, and has received an official approval of her apartment application! This human has been through extreme amounts of trauma in her life and has struggled with homelessness on and off for years, so this is a big deal. This human is working to break the negative patterns in her life and overcome systemic barriers. This human has exhibited ways she is pushing forward, in showing gratitude, continuing to take steps towards housing goals, and trusting in a team member to process through tough childhood trauma that hurts to talk about. This human is also currently exhibiting a struggle to manage the effects of her mental illness. Our social workers understand how difficult the healing process is and have recognized the struggle this human is experiencing at this time, with so many things going right for her. Transitioning from a chaotic, unhealthy, and unstable life to a calm, healthy, stable one is extremely trying, and our team hopes this human can find the strength to keep pushing through. 

After persevering through one missed attempt, one of our humans practiced up and passed the road test for his driver’s license! This is a huge step towards achieving his goals of gaining employment and achieving financial stability as he enters adulthood. He learned about a job opportunity at Menards and is very hopeful about landing it. This human was upfront with his interviewer about not being able to pass a drug screen and they are giving him the chance to apply in a few weeks. He took this as a challenge to stay sober, and despite being in an environment with friends and family he visited recently, he was proud to report laying low and being successful with his goal to stay sober. He has demonstrated having an immense amount of willpower to stay clean for extended periods when properly motivated and supported.  At the same time, he may be hesitant to move up and achieve as he is rather young and being independent and "adulting" can be scary. 

One of our humans has gained employment allowing her to earn an income working from home and fully supporting her needs. This human is continuing to overcome the barriers she faces and finding a balance that works for her life and her family. This human has continued to exhibit service towards her peers, supporting an individual who is struggling with homelessness. 

One of our humans has taken a step back recently, and our social workers and other support staff have an understanding of several reasons this may occur. This human has several basic needs he’s trying to meet, and difficult barriers he’s pushing through, and our staff show unconditional positive regard when humans then decide to reach out again. This human reached back out to a social worker a week ago, communicating a need for support, and this social worker worked through the next step for this human. This human began working on a creative project for Be Soul Good, our partner organization. Unfortunately, this human was arrested for a probation violation. The Peer Humanity team will continue to show unconditional positive regard to this human as he navigates through the hurdles he is experiencing in life right now. 

One of our humans has been busy with medical appointments, along with meeting her Social Worker and Probation Officer, in three different cities across Wisconsin. This human was satisfied to learn that her probation will be transferred to the county she is currently staying in and looking for housing in, meaning she will have one less trip to figure out each month. She is also taking care of legal responsibilities related to a felony charge she has. She also has begun searching for an apartment in the area and has worked hours for Be Soul Good as well as a cleaning job. All the while this human has been maintaining consistent contact with her young son. This human was open to meeting a new member of the Peer Humanity team, Christopher, to help her in her recovery journey as well as in obtaining housing. She is learning to confront old habits with help from the team that is forming around her and remains upbeat with a positive outlook on her future. 

Stay tuned for more and thank you for your support. 

- The Peer Humanity Team