Service Array:
Peer Support & Daily Living Skills Training
I grew up a small-town girl in Iowa in a very religious, middle-class, family. My parents were amazing in a lot of
ways, but they were also very strict when it came to us all embodying religious values and people’s judgments,
society’s expectations, and the need to project a “good image”. I think that anything “cookie cutter” means that
people aren’t being authentic, so instead I found my escape in reading and community activities until I left for
college. I went to Ashford University and got a double Bachelor’s degree in both Psychology and
Social/Criminal Justice. After graduating, I left Iowa in the dust and found my true passion was in Social Work
when I took my first job at a homeless shelter that serves youth ages 13 – 18. After I found what I wanted to do
in life, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee with a Master’s degree in Social Work – Macro,
with an emphasis in Trauma Informed Care. Since my first job, I have served men, women, children, Veterans,
and the LGTBQ+ community as they worked to find housing, access MH and Recovery Support, get connected with community resources, and learn healthy hobbies/coping skills.
Life has a way of life-ing, and even though I had a lot of healthy support and routines in place, I never really fit
in with the people I grew up around. This resulted in me being bullied a lot (physically, mentally, and
emotionally) when I was growing up. Right before my move to Milwaukee in 2017, I was diagnosed with Stage
3 Melanoma and this further increased the feeling of being different. Since then, I have survived cancer 8
different times and worked through all of the Survivor’s guilt because my cancer experience didn’t look the
same as those around me. I also had to realize that just because one big bad thing happened to me, it didn’t
have to be my entire identity and was instead just a chapter of my story. I am a big believer in taking life one
moment at a time, and I find the most joy in healthy movement (yoga, kickboxing, and lifting), being outside,
having a cup of coffee with a friend, reading, and sitting down to sew while I watch a good movie. Staying
connected to the healthy people in my life has also balanced out the hard stuff with laughter and positive
memories. I feel the most present and happiest when I am serving the community, and people, around me – so
this is something that I work hard to remain engaged in. I am excited to meet you, wherever you are, so that as
we take these first steps together you will find that you are strong enough to walk on your own.