When Michelle first logged on to her weekly CareerCatchers meetings, she didn’t say a word.
She was in the middle of one of the hardest seasons of her life. Leaving an abusive marriage and going through a divorce, she was also watching the family business she had helped support change around her. For years she had been a stay-at-home mom who pitched in with the business part-time, setting her own schedule. Now she needed a job, and she needed to learn a whole new way of finding one.
The House of Ruth connected her to CareerCatchers, where she began working with Senior Career Coach Maria.
“I was really standoffish,” Michelle remembers. “I would log on, but I would never have any kind of responses. It was even hard when she was trying to communicate with me, because I was going through so much.”
Maria didn’t push. She kept showing up. When searching for jobs felt like too much, Maria sent job leads herself. She made sure Michelle knew about every workshop and opportunity coming up. And she waited.
The turning point came when Michelle sent Maria a message: I apologize for being so standoffish. It’s not you. You’ve been great. It’s just very hard for me to trust people right now.
“That was the moment I saw she really had a heart for me,” Michelle says, “and that she was willing to be patient and understand the circumstances I was in.”
A Second Step in Healing
Michelle now attends CareerCatchers’ Empowerment workshops and Job Club as regularly as she can, and she even schedules her appointments around them. The sessions cover practical skills like managing time, and also the things that are harder to teach: setting boundaries, handling emotions, practicing self-care, and rebuilding confidence.
“These sessions were kind of like a second step in therapy,” she says.
She appreciates the small details too. Volunteer Coordinator Emma sends out slides and notes after every session, so participants can return to what they learned long after the moment has passed. For someone still finding her footing, the format itself made a difference. “You weren’t forced to turn on your video camera,” Michelle explains. “If you’re not comfortable talking, you can put it in the chat. They make you feel very comfortable, and then you go at your own pace.”
“I Count”
Today, Michelle describes the past year as “a dramatic change.” The woman who once sat silently through workshops now participates every week.
“I’m not intimidated talking with people I don’t really know,” she says. “I’m more confident. I’m learning that I count, and that I don’t always have to say yes to other people.”
With Maria’s help, she has worked through applications to go back and finish her degree, navigated the FAFSA, and found free professional certifications through programs like Google. She is now pursuing business-focused AI certifications to prepare for the next chapter of her career.
Asked how she would describe CareerCatchers to a friend, she doesn’t hesitate.
“CareerCatchers is like family. Everyone is kind and patient and understanding. You’re not lumped into one category. You’re not stereotyped. You never feel like you don’t belong.”
*Name and photo have been changed to protect privacy.