When Vida Wright, Vocational Development Coordinator at The Mission, talks with someone starting in our Behavioral Health Program who has been incarcerated and is still striving to recover, the first thing she says is: “Succeeding here is about your freedom.”
She quickly adds, “Once you succeed in this program, you will have many freedoms. It can be as simple as leaving this program with a job, a place to live, and having the freedom to decide what you are going to have for breakfast. It is also having the freedom of going about your day not needing to look over your shoulder, wondering who might be following you.”
Her message is: “To succeed, to have that freedom, you need to know what is motivating you. Your motivation has to be clear – and something you believe in wholeheartedly.”
Vida adds, “I tell each individual starting in our recovery program, we have a talented and committed team here who will help prepare you to get a job. That is the part we can do to help you become self-sufficient and independent. If you need to get your birth certificate, your state identification, your social security card, to apply for financial assistance – we can make sure you have everything you need to get those credentials so you can go to work. We can also provide you with work experience inside The Mission, help you complete our job prep course, prepare a resume, practice interviewing, be on time, be reliable, dependable, accountable, resourceful, a team player and teach you how to manage your money.”
Then she says, “We can provide you with all that support – and more. But we cannot give you the motivation. That motivation needs to come from deep within you. That is why I start by emphasizing your freedom. Being free can be your inspiration – your motivation – your focus and your purpose. That freedom is what will allow you to think about your life differently.”
Vida, who has a law degree, says she has “always been an advocate for those who don’t know how to advocate for themselves. I have a passion for social justice. And my drive is to teach someone who is ready how to create a new way of life. I’m a boots on the ground kind of person. I like to walk side-by-side with those I am serving – so I know what is really going on, and how to help.”
