Step 2 Stories

WEEK 0: The journey begins for the Life Skills participants.

Week 1: As the falling leaves wave summer goodbye, 22 StepUp participants are preparing for a new season in their lives: a fresh start, new classes, new friends, and new challenges. To get ready, the StepUp staff has been busy refining their curriculum, setting up the classroom, securing instructors, and preparing new notebooks. These notebooks include a lesson plan spanning 48 weeks that will help each participant develop themselves with the goal of long-term stability.

Week 2: With a stroke of the pen, their journey begins. When you commit, in writing, what you want to accomplish, you increase the likelihood of achieving your goals. At the start of Life Skills, participants sign a contract with StepUp and with themselves. They commit to dedicating 2 hours a week to personal growth, being on time to class, paying their program fees, and completing their assigned homework while working a minimum of 30 hours each week. They’re overflowing with excitement and ready to start their 48 Steps.

Week 3: Mariama takes copious notes as our community partner, Alliance Medical Ministry, discusses strategies for ensuring good health, and outlines resources available in the Raleigh/Wake County area to assist with medical needs.

Week 4: Saving for Their Future - StepUp does not charge for services. The $10 weekly program fee is instead deposited into a savings account for each participant’s graduation. Pay the program fee on time and StepUp will match those dollars. That’s up to $960 each graduate could receive in September 2020!

Week 5: Dear Future: A Letter Written to my StepUp Grad Self - In this thoughtful and challenging exercise, participants write a letter to themselves to be read just before their September 2020 graduation. What are their goals? What are their hopes for the coming year? It’s easy to lose track of how far you’ve come in a year. This time capsule will help them reflect on their progress.

Week 6: Dare to Transform - This week, the discussion in Phase One was lively and thought-provoking. Participants began the process of identifying the areas of themselves and their lives they want to change. They then envisioned the next steps they will take in growing into the people they want to be.

Week 7: We all feel nervous at the thought of public speaking. Presentation skills are a valuable tool to apply in many life situations such as delivering a devotional to a roomful of your peers, interviewing for a job, or giving a presentation for your manager or team at work. Participants have been learning and practicing the skills necessary to confidently convey a message in a meaningful and effective way.

Week 8: We negotiate every day, from requesting time off, seeking a better work schedule, or asking for a raise. It’s important to make sure you go about it the right way. Participants worked in groups to practice their newly learned skills: active listening, acknowledging objections, paraphrasing, seeking win-win solutions, and showing gratitude.

Week 9: Spiritual Foundation - The most important part of a house is its foundation. You cannot build a strong structure on a weak foundation. Participants shared their thoughts regarding their spirituality and examined the process of building a spiritual foundation and how to strengthen it. During the discussion, there were no “right” or “wrong” positions, only different perspectives, all of which were well respected by the group.

Week 10 - “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – African Proverb

In life, we all need someone to go to for advice and support. The participant/co-partner relationship is an important component of the StepUp Life Skills process. This week, participants discussed the value of having a co-partner, what qualities they would like in their co-partner, and how they can make the most of their co-partner relationship. At the same time, volunteers have been training for their upcoming co-partner role.

Week 11: Pairing the Co-Partners - Compatibility is integral to the success of the participant/co-partner relationship. Case managers meet to strategize and discuss the pairings before meet the co-partner night.

Week 12: Meet Your Co-Partner! - At first, they were nervous, anxious, and excited. However, they quickly became friends, ready to continue this journey together.

Blessings of the Season: Each weeknight program begins by sharing a meal with fellow participants, co-partners, instructors, and staff. While dining together, everyone is able to share stories, build relationships, learn from each other, and create bonds. This holiday season, we acknowledge the blessing of the White Memorial Presbyterian Church kitchen staff for preparing healthy and delicious meals for StepUp participants.

Week 13: One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions relates to money: Save More, Spend Less, Get Out of Debt, Improve Credit Score. As the participants enter the second phase of Life Skills, their journey will be all about financial literacy. For the next 12 weeks, they will be learning more about logging their income and expenses, spending needs versus wants, understanding credit, and developing a budget. They’re nervous, but excited to StepUp in 2020.

Week 14: Although it can be scary, documenting and tracking daily income and expenses and keeping your receipts is a necessary step in the process of creating financial stability. Participants were introduced to Weekly Financial Logs this week and practiced completing the logs with their co-partners. In four short weeks, a personal financial “picture” will begin to emerge that will provide the framework for developing their own budget.

Week 15: Where did you learn about money? Your parents? Your friends? Trial and error? And how did that shape your feelings about money? Fearful? Anxious? Hopeful? Participants reflected on these memories and feelings as they began developing what financial habits they want to create and goals they want to accomplish.

Week 16: Needs vs Wants - Understanding your needs versus your wants is key to building a budget. Needs are easier to nail down. You need a place to live, clothes to wear, and food to eat. But does that mean everything else is a want? Participants spent the evening discussing this topic, categorizing and prioritizing their unique needs and wants, and learning not everyone will have the same needs and wants.

Week 17: How Can I Spend Less? - It’s easy to spend more money than you have. But figuring out how to cut spending isn’t as easy as it sounds. It can be an overwhelming task to identify areas to cut and to break long-held spending habits. This week participants, along with their co-partners, shared ways to reduce spending in various categories.

Week 18: We’ve all heard the saying, “If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough.” But it’s not just about having big dreams that scare you. You also need do something to turn those dreams into a reality. You need to execute a plan to bring them into fruition.

This week participants began thinking about their S.M.A.R.T goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable , Relevant, Time-based). These goals will be small steps taken and completed in Phase 3 on their way to reaching their dreams.

Week 19 - Credit: Love it or hate it, credit plays an important role in our lives and you need to take it seriously in order to achieve your dreams and purchase the things you want.  Credit is necessary to rent an apartment, buy a home,  purchase a car, or get favorable insurance rates.  This week participants discussed their responsibilities regarding credit, how to establish good credit, and ways to improve their credit scores.

Week 20 - Sharing Joys: Joy is an experience to be shared.  Positive experiences happen to us everyday, yet we don’t always take full advantage of them.  At StepUp, we counter the tendency to assign greater emphasis to negative experiences by starting the program with the sharing of our joys.  It is an uplifting start not only to the evening, but also the entire week.

Week 21 - Improving my Credit: When was the last time you reviewed your credit report? Did you understand all the information included? Was the information correct, or were there discrepancies? For the past 2 weeks, StepUp participants have been reviewing their credit reports with their co-partners. During that time, they’ve discussed specific steps to take to repair or improve their credit status.

Week 22 - Priority Game: If you had only 25 “beads” to spend on your monthly rent, what would your priorities be? Access to public transportation? Location to work or school? Laundry facilities? Apartment size? Number of bathrooms? This week, StepUp participants played the “Housing Priority Game” to help understand the importance of prioritizing expenses and making thoughtful decisions. After the game was over, participants discussed the decisions they made and why they made them.

Week 23: COVID-19 may have suspended this week’s programming, but that hasn’t stopped our participants and staff from focusing on their goals. As part of the Life Skills process, each participant is assigned a case manager to support them in their journey and provide counsel to help them understand and overcome any personal, social, or behavioral problems they may be experiencing. While face to face, one on one meetings are preferred, in these days of social distancing, case managers are continuing their support via phone, email, text, or video conferencing.

Week 24 - Adapting to Change: To loosely quote naturalist Charles Darwin, it is not the strongest nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change. We are all living in a world that is changing rapidly. StepUp Ministry participants and staff are adapting to the new normal. Tuesday night began a new phase in the Life Skills program: new participants, new lessons, and a new way of delivering class instruction and materials. And everyone - staff, participants, copartners, and instructors - stepped up and embraced technology. Follow us as we continue the journey to stability…from a safe distance.

Week 25 - Values: Values in life serve as guidelines and help set boundaries. They influence our behavior and help us determine what is right or wrong. Participants pondered a list of values and discussed those that were important to them. So, what values from this list are important to you?

Week 26: Setting clear, healthy boundaries gives you the space to live your best life.  This week participants brainstormed ways that boundaries can be established and shared situations in their own lives where they need a boundary.  Participants were also reminded that establishing a boundary is NOT selfish, but a sign of good self esteem.

Week 27: How do you respond to conflict? What motivates you? How do you solve problems? What causes you stress? If you knew the answers to these questions, would you be able to improve your working relationships? Facilitate better teamwork?

Participants spent time this week answering these questions and reflecting on their work style.

Week 28: “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” - Dr. Wayne Dyer

Look closely at the screen. See the 3 pictures? Did you know that if you look at each picture differently, there are 6 pictures? It’s all about perspective.

Everyone has a history of personal experiences and memories that create and shape their perception, both good and bad. Participants spent time understanding the concept of perception and how seeing things from other perspectives can increase possibilities.

Week 29 - Decision Making: No matter how big or small, significant or seemingly insignificant, every decision you make throughout your day shapes your life. Every decision you make is important and influences the direction of your life.

Participants learned about the 6 steps of decision making: Defining the problem, identifying the cause, discussing the possible solutions, selecting the best option, developing an action plan, and evaluating the outcome.

None of us is expected to get everything right all the time. But StepUp participants are developing skills to help them make the big choices and decisions easier. Good decision making skills is one of the most important life skills to own.

Week 30 - Trust: What does trust look like for you?

For the past 30 weeks, StepUp’s participants have been trusting. Trusting the StepUp program and curriculum. Trusting their case managers. Trusting their classmates. Trusting their instructors. Trusting their co-partners. And trusting that all their hard work is leading them to more stability in their lives.

StepUp is trusting that we’ll one day all be together in a classroom, like we were when this picture was taken February 4, 2020. Until then, we will continue the journey to stability through online instruction.

Week 31: Friends are important to our well-being. Good friends relieve stress, provide comfort and joy, and prevent loneliness and isolation. The StepUp participants have been building strong friendships with each other since week one, even as the class moved to virtual learning. Participants continue to dedicate time to share their joys and struggles, and everyone is genuinely interested in how everyone is managing the COVID-19 world.

Week 32: A slightly different 48 steps post. Our hearts are breaking and we want you to know ... We’re here. We’re listening. We love you.

Week 33: Have you thought about the difference between pride and self-esteem? How do you know which is which? How do you recognize our own worth and gifts without becoming self-centered, competitive, or arrogant?

These are some the hard and uncomfortable questions asked during this week’s lesson. The StepUp participants pondered these difficult questions and discussed the answers together via their weekly virtual learning session.

Week 34– Empathy: “Empathy is…communicating that incredibly healing message of, ‘You’re not alone.’ ” - Brene Brown

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. One way to build empathy is to ask yourself, “How would I feel in this situation?” Make an effort to understand what the other person is going through and feeling, even if you don’t agree with their feeling.

Week 35– Forgiveness: You often hear about the importance of forgiveness. But have you thought about “unforgiveness” and its effects on you, your dreams, and where you want to be in life? StepUp participants have been engaging in a lot of self-reflection around forgiveness … what it looks and feels like and what it means for them and others.

Week 36– Define Success: “The StepUp participants have begun their fourth and final phase of their 48-week journey. Now they start putting all their lessons from the 35 classes together and begin building the future of their dreams. Where are they now in their career? Where do they want to be? They have big dreams! And they are each other’s biggest cheerleaders and know to achieve those big dreams they have to keep setting goals.

Week 37– Taking Positive Risks: To get where you want to go in life, you have to take positive risks. Advancing your personal growth by becoming involved in a program like StepUp Life Skills is a great example of positive risk taking. It challenges you in new ways, helps you prepare long-term goals, and enables you to grow in your confidence.

Week 38– Assessing Your Career Path: StepUp participants have been spending time discussing their current careers and dreaming about their future careers. But is their dream career the right choice? By answering several questions about what is important to them, what they like or don’t like, participants were able to complete a career assessment. This assessment is helping them to learn more about a variety of careers that suit their interests, strengths, skills and values.

Week 39– Devotion: Connecting with others through prayer and meditation is known to strengthen and deepen relationships. Even though we are not able to gather together physically for programming, we are still maintaining our practice of beginning each night with a devotion led by a StepUp participant. The uplifting, positive messages vary week to week and allow the participants, volunteers, and staff to connect deeply.

Week 40– Personal Branding: When we think of branding, we often associate it with a particular company or product. But what about you and what you bring to the table? What makes you special? How does your uniqueness translate to value? What do you want to be known for? Building your personal brand can help you find better employment opportunities, convince prospective employers that you have what they’re looking for, attract better clients for your business, and build a reputation that distinguishes you from the competition. It all starts with a clear understanding of who you are and what value you offer to the world.

Week 41– You are Worth More: Whether looking for a job, trying to keep the job you have, or working to build a new career for yourself, you’re bound to face obstacles or barriers. There are hundreds of different barriers job seekers face, from transportation, to finding childcare, to a criminal background. Many of these barriers carry into your new jobs once you’re employed.

Participants spent time identifying the barriers they face and began making a plan and setting goals to overcome them. Because everyone needs and deserves an opportunity.

Week 42– Invaluable Instructors: As the participants head into the final weeks of their 48-week journey, we want to take the time to highlight the instructors who show up week after week, in person and now virtually. These volunteers share not only their time, but also their talents. We could not complete this journey without them. StepUp is forever grateful they’ve chosen to share their gifts with us and our participants.

Week 43– Vision: It can be hard to see beyond where and who you are now and picture where you want to be in the future and what you want to achieve over time. By creating a personal vision statement, you are creating a guide for decisions and thinking long term about where you want to go, who you want to be, what you want to accomplish, and why you want to transform your life.

As their final project, StepUp participants are spending their last weeks of Life Skills developing and presenting their vision statements. Be sure to check back in the coming weeks as we showcase their journeys.

Week 47– Creating a Vision: The saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” certainly holds true as the StepUp participants work to design their vision boards and vision statements. These inspirational collages serve as images of their future-tangible examples, ideas, or representations of where they are going. They represent their dreams, their goals, and their ideal life. Next week, they share their visions, with their classmates, copartners, and instructors.

Week 48– An End is Just Another Beginning: “It’s good to have an end to journey toward, but it’s the journey that matters in the end.” – Ernest Hemingway

It’s the last class of a 48-week journey and vision board presentations. No one could have predicted how this journey was going to unfold, but StepUp’s participants took it all in stride. We asked them to use one word to describe their experience and heard: “expansion,” “growth,” “blessing,” “change,” “progress,” and “friendship.”

Thursday we celebrate each one at their drive thru graduation. Way to go StepUp graduates!