MY work as a FAMILY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST is not easily described. Many of the people I work with are broken and lost. However, I KNOW that their life still has purpose. When an individual is faced with their family being destroyed because of actions they could have changed, controlled or, avoided, my life is an incredible inspiration of what is possible with a POWER beyond our own strength. My own life; one of addiction, incarceration, broken promises and destroyed relationships, serves as the template for illustrating the power of FAITH, FORGIVENESS, and FAMILY. It has been over 15 years since my life was changed forever by the power of God. Not everyone is willing to invite him into their life, so I do not force God on them. However, there is nothing that I say or do that is not based on a Godly principle...I have the pleasure of sharing with folks that despite the challenges we face, in spite of the mistakes we have made, LASTING CHANGE is within their grasp. Many parents need to hear that having any Agency involved in their life is not meant as an indictment of them as people; IT is an indicator that this is the time CHANGE is required. For many folks, they feel that their bad choices will always be used against them no matter if they change or not. However, until an individual changes, no one can look forward with hope, they are forced to look back with regret and other negative emotions...A large focus of my work is to let anyone who feels judged because of their past, recognize that the key to be free from the stain of our past mistakes is to realize that, "I can't fix the past but, I CAN CORRECT THE FUTURE". My intent is to bring hope, not judgement into their life and to let them know they are capable of change. Despite the circumstance I KNOW that OVERCOMING a challenge in front of me is more important that what folks think about my past mistakes. Why, because if I can focus on who I want to be instead of who I used to be, a new person is born