Lead Resource Coordinator, Ephrata

Lancaster County Program

Prior to becoming Program/Shelter Resource Coordinator at Good Sam, Janessa was a sign language interpreter. She graduated from Bloomsburg University in 2013. In 2017 I became heavily involved with drugs, went to rehab, and got pregnant at the end of 2018. By September of 2019, she was entering Good Sam’s Emergency Shelter in Ephrata as a participant, facing homelessness at 9 months pregnant. In March of 2020, She became a house manager for the Emergency Shelter. She successfully completed the program and moved out in October 2020, but stayed on as staff for the Emergency Shelter through the winter. In June 2020 She was hired back as a Program/Shelter Resource Coordinator for the same shelter. She is so excited to be working with the women that come through our doors… She is a recovering addict, has faced homelessness, and is a single mom. She’s walked the same walk many of our participants are walking. She is so grateful to be back at Good Sam, giving encouragement, support, compassion, and love to our participants. All things that she was given while she was in our programs.

Janessa lives in Ephrata with her son Ryland. In her spare time, she enjoys running around after her son, being outdoors, and reading.