Staff Spotlight: Amy Howard

What is your name?
Amy Howard

What is your job title at the WCA?
Case manager

What do you do in your job at the WCA?
I assist clients in obtaining the resources that they need to reach stability in their life after facing trauma.

How long have you been with the WCA?
I will have been with the WCA for five years in May. I spent the first two years as a client advocate and the past three have been as a case manager.

Where did you work prior to joining the WCA team?
Prior to coming to the WCA I worked in child-care locally.

What do you find most rewarding about your work at the WCA?
There are so many aspects of this job that are rewarding. This work always puts a smile on my face. It is especially rewarding to see how clients come in with so little and to see them leave with such abundance. They start to flourish and grow when they use all of the resources the WCA provides and when we can connect them to others that will help them on their journey. It reminds me of the book the Very Hungry Caterpillar which I read to my children all the time. Our clients come in and they fill themselves up on everything we can provide them with and they leave as a beautiful butterfly that has learned to fly and be on its own. I think it is very appropriate that we have a butterfly statue out front.

How have you changed or grown as a person through your work here?
Each time I come into work I learn a lesson from my clients. One of the biggest is showing me that it can be hard to ask for help, but doing so is okay. Asking for help allows you to grow into the person you want to become. This does not always mean asking for help in traumatic situations, we can all learn to ask for help in our everyday life and that is still courageous.

Is there a memorable moment or story that you’d like to share that you have experienced at the WCA?
Each client creates memorable moments to be honest. Especially when I start to see them less often. They visit less often after taking those next steps towards freedom. Clients have more stability in their lives when they go from seeing me once every week, to once every other, to once a month, then to every other month, and then hardly at all. The times that they do come in they are always excited to share how they have grown. I still get phone calls from them! In fact, one that I still talk about is a mom and her three children who lived in the shelter a while back. She went through case management and we were able to help her find a rental assistant program. She got her own apartment, went back to school for her nursing degree and ended up getting a fantastic RN job. She actually called me to let me know that she had just purchased her own house that she is currently remodeling. I start to tear up thinking how now her kids have their own rooms and she has her own space. Now she has the choices and freedom she did not have before. Seeing her and our other clients become empowered through the WCA is so amazing.

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