Tina Ramirez
As a student in high school, Tina moved out of her parents' home and began life on her own. It wasn't long before things began moving in a different direction that what she had originally planned. Rather than going to college and landing a great job, Tina found herself in a world of drugs and alcohol, moving at warp speed in the wrong direction. She eventually found herself trapped in a world in which she didn't want to live, and there seemed to be no logical route of escape.
"One night I was walking on the streets. I was tired, I was high, and I was confused. I had no shoes on my feet. I fell down to my knees and I cried out to God to send me help or take me out of this world." And that night, help came. Tina was arrested and booked in jail. From jail, Tina entered rehab. That was 2001 - and Tina has been clean and sober ever since.
Once Tina's life began to mean something to her again, she remembered the promises that she had made to herself when she graduated from high school. She became more determined than ever to turn her life around, taking every experience and turning it into a stepping stone rather than a stumbling block. Tina came to Goodwill out of rehab, finding employment through Goodwill Temporary Services. She then entered Goodwill's North Texas Institute for Career Development (NTI), where she took the General Office Clerk course and learning the skills necessary to find employment in an office environment. Upon graduation from NTI, Tina became an employee of Goodwill as a Retention Specialist, helping others find and maintain employment in the competitive workforce. Drawing from her own experiences, Tina was able to help others remove barriers and achieve independence. Her hard work did not go unnoticed, as Tina was soon promoted to Employment Consultant and now is the Manager of Employment Services. "Goodwill was there for me. Now, I can give back to others what Goodwill gave me...job skills, dignity, self-respect, and independence."
Lance Voss
Lance Voss had a fast-paced life and a great job as a professional waiter and bartender. Then in February of 2001, life changed suddenly for Lance. "I woke up one morning and couldn't move from the hips down. I thought that life as I knew it was over." Lance was diagnosed with Transverse Mylytis, a viral disease in his spine. After extensive hospitalization physical therapy, Lance had to learn to walk again. Determined to move forward in his life, Lance found his way to Goodwill's Job Quest Training and Placement Services. He was assigned to Goodwill Employment Specialist Christine McKeel, who, Lance says, "took me under her wing and helped me fly again." Christine and Lance visited job fairs and many times Christine would have to "push" Lance in front of prospective employers. At his last job fair, Lance came face to face with the ATX Group, a Telematics company that provides mechanical assistance, theft and recovery services for high end automobiles such as Mercedes Benz, BMW, Rolls Royce & Maybach. Lance was hired by the ATX Group, where he has been a model employee for two years. According to Lance, Goodwill gave him his independence back, "Goodwill gave me a chance."
Linda Duke
Linda Duke suffers from Degenerative Spondylosis, as well as depression and anxiety. She came to Goodwill in 2006 wanting to strengthen her computer skills. She attended Goodwill's North Texas Institute faithfully and had to deal with a great loss during that time as her husband passed away. Yet, despite this devastating loss, she still continued to push to graduate. Linda graduated in early 2007 and then entered Goodwill's job placement program. In this process, Linda was very concerned that her back would interfere and prevent her from finding and keeping a job; however, motivation drove Linda to want to work. Goodwill assisted her though Job Quest Training, which better prepared her for finding a job by strengthening her interviewing skills. After Job Quest Training, Linda's Goodwill Placement Specialist worked closely with her on her job search, giving her several job leads each week. When Linda came across a job at Consultants in Cardiology as a file clerk, she landed an interview and was successful. She started her new job the very next week, and Linda has been working as a file clerk since March 20, 2007. She enjoys her job and her co-workers and is very satisfied with the career she is building through the assistance of Goodwill.