At 22, Alexa found her passion—helping others heal. She started working at a rehabilitation center, providing treatment for individuals struggling with addiction and mental health challenges. The work was heavy, but it was meaningful. She stayed for over eight years, never imagining a reason to leave.
“I truly grew up there,” she says. “At that time, I was still figuring out who I was.”
Then, tragedy struck. Over the course of one week, two of the company’s top executives passed away unexpectedly. The organization’s entire atmosphere shifted. Just days later, the nearly 300 employees received word, by email and letter, that the company was permanently shutting down. Their jobs were gone in an instant.
“It was surreal. I kept thinking, this isn’t happening, no way,” Alexa recalls. The experience was heartbreaking, swift, and disorienting. “My coworkers had become like family because we were dealing with tragedy and trauma every day. It bonds you.”
Suddenly, Alexa found herself without a job, and without the support system of her colleagues that had grounded her for nearly a decade.
It had already been a tough eight months for Alexa: ending a long-term relationship with someone she lived with, having to move in with her estranged mother, and then finally getting a place of her own. Just as she was beginning to feel a bit of stability return, she suddenly lost her job. It was more than she could carry alone. That’s when she was referred to Good Sam.
“I was close to tears the first time I met with the team,” she says. “I was used to figuring things out on my own. Asking for help was really hard.”
Together with her Good Sam Resource Coordinator, Chris, Alexa began building a new path forward. Good Sam helped her secure medical insurance and apply for food benefits for the first time in her life. She picked up a part-time job cleaning while searching for new work in her field. She also took steps to re-evaluate her finances, canceling unnecessary subscriptions and setting a budget. And when Chris learned Alexa had a cat and dog, she connected her with the nonprofit Pet Pantry to help with food and supplies for her furry companions.
To help her stay housed during this uncertain time, Good Sam also provided short-term rental assistance—closing the gap and making sure she didn’t lose her home just as she was starting to rebuild.
During this tough season, creativity and reading became lifelines for Alexa’s mental health. She reconnected with her creative side, teaming up with a former school friend to illustrate children’s books, and set a goal to read 10 books this year. She even launched her own Etsy shop to sell her artwork and custom illustrations. (DrawnToCreatebyLex on Etsy).
Alexa found a new full-time job doing what she loves: helping people. Slowly but surely, stability started to return.
“It’s my goal to bring joy to other people through my work and artwork,” she says.
Now as a graduate of the program, Alexa knows firsthand how life-changing the right support can be. If she could offer advice to someone going through a similar situation, it would be this:
“Sometimes you really just need a little support. And it’s OK.”
Alexa’s self-portrait shows her enjoying time at home with her dog and cat—a home she was able to keep through a season of financial uncertainty with help from Good Sam. (See if you can spot the special nod to Good Sam in her artwork!)
