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Kelli’s Story |
Kelli came to the Walden House Female Offender Treatment and Employment Program (FOTEP) in El Monte from Family Foundations Program (FFP), an alternative prison program for mothers with children. Kelli says even though she had her son with her at FFP, she lacked good parenting skills, which was something she learned while at FOTEP. “At FOTEP I learned to be a mom. First, I had to learn about my own negative behaviors; identify, accept them and then change them. Then, I could be a mom and begin to work with my son to address his negative behaviors”, she proudly stated. While at FOTEP, Kelli went to school and learned computer literacy skills, which enabled her to land her very first job as a Purchasing Agent.
Perhaps the most compelling part of Kelli’s story is that, in her own words, “I was born at Walden House.” Not that she denies her life before Walden House, but she truly believes this is where her real life started. “Walden House instills morals, real values, the concept of family, and most of all, the ability to believe in yourself. It gives you strength, courage and the understanding that you have to ‘give back’, which is how I live my life now. Many people helped me at various stages of my life here. Grace helped me a lot at FOTEP, Wayne was and is my inspiration and Demetrius gave me an opportunity to work here at SASCA.”
Kelli is a Walden House SASCA employee, who intends to stay with the company. She started as an Administrative Assistant and is now a Community Services Coordinator, specializing in working with women in treatment.