 "I started at rock bottom," says Liza
Sowers, a 19 year old single mother. "If anything
happens - day care doesn't work or whatever - I 'm back down to the bottom."
As profiled in the Roanoke Times,
RAM's employment program has been helping Sowers and others like her
overcome the barriers that have kept them from holding jobs. Barriers
like no transportation, no child care or a lack of basic workplace skills.
"This program helped my husband and I
move up from a very depressing, hopeless situation to our own apartment, a
reliable vehicle and stable jobs," one grateful client wrote.
Last year, RAM provided short-term
financial help for 5,000 people. RAM's employment counselors assessed
more than 300 potential workers and placed nearly 150 in jobs.
Young mothers, the elderly and the disabled account for nearly all applicants of emergency aid. RAM's funds go toward rent and utilities, toward prescriptions and transportation. RAM's help sometimes is all that stands between a family and homelessness.
 RAM also offers crucial support for those who do become homeless. About 130 people visit RAM House daily for a well-balanced , hot meal -- for some, the only meal of the day.
"Without a safe place to stay and a good meal, our guests would suffer," says Debbie Denison, RAM's operations director. "Imagine if you had nowhere to go , and you had to live outdoors day after day, even in the rain or snow." RAM's open door means that the homeless need not attempt to stay in inappropriate or even
dangerous places.
But RAM isn't only about giving. Hundreds of volunteers have derived deep personal satisfaction from work that makes an immediate difference in the lives of those less fortunate.
"It keeps me going," says Eugene Meador, who has been a RAM volunteer for more than nine years. He feels great
satisfaction in knowing "that I am doing something for someone who needs it.... The rewards are tremendous."
Jodie Caplan began working in the RAM kitchen shortly after
mov ing to Roanoke in 1988. "I wanted a way to be active in the community, " she explains. " I was
drawn to the RAM program because it provides direct sustenance for people who need it."
The response from RAM's guests was another reward. "I was always surprised at how thankful the people were they were helpful, patient. They seemed very appreciative. That's what kept me coming back." |
