By Jacqueline French

I’m a fixer.

When a problem arises, I’m who they call to find the solution.

As a single mother of two young men, being a fixer is something one quickly becomes if they aren’t already.

But, nearly 7 years ago and for the first time in my life, I found myself toiling over challenges with no fix in sight.

It was 2016, and I remember my eldest son was preparing to graduate from high school. While he was excited about prom and soon venturing off to college to further his education, I was concerned and worried about the cost.

Out of work and in financial disarray

I was less than a month into a new job at the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District (HABD), which came shortly after being let go by my previous employer. I was tired, both emotionally and physically, and I was in financial disarray.

I’d just filed for bankruptcy for the second time in my life, my car was repossessed, and I was on the verge of being evicted from my apartment.

I was a single mother of two who, for once, just didn’t know how to fix the problems before us. I had zero tools in my toolbox that would help put the pieces back together, and I found myself stuck in what felt like a downward spiral.

Unique Birmingham concept

But, then a Birmingham nonprofit – the Women Under Construction Network (WUCN) –changed the trajectory of mine and my family’s lives.

I learned of the organization thanks to a fellow member in my church. They told me all about WUCN’s What I Learned At Home (WILAH) program, which teaches low-income single women home repair skills.

So, here I was, low-income and riddled with financial challenges I kept secret from almost everyone while in a new job to support those who, unbeknownst to them, were in almost identical situations as me.

As a fixer by nature whose life was in need of some repairs, I knew that WUCN’s program was my opportunity to fill my toolbox with what it lacked so that I could be better positioned to help single moms in similar circumstances.

The then 10-week WILAH program wasn’t what I expected, but it was everything I needed. The weekly class lasted a little over two hours each week, and we could not miss more than two sessions or we would have to drop the program. I didn’t miss one.

Tools to repair homes and our lives

Each session, we were given a tool. We learned how it could be used for a home repair, but licensed counselors were also present to share how, metaphorically, each tool could be used to fix the broken pieces of our lives.

For me, it was the measuring tape that not only taught me physical home repair but opened my eyes to life repairs I needed to make. In the past, I would measure myself up against other people.

WUCN’s program taught me, and life’s challenges at the time affirmed, that my constant measuring and comparing would ultimately keep me from all I aspired to be and do.

Though I have never been a public housing resident, I can relate to our single mother residents and the stigma they frequently encounter.

That’s why, once I completed the WILAH program and WUCN CEO Shellie Layne inquired about creating a partnership with HABD, it was a no brainer. I would have the opportunity to connect more women in the position I once was in with WUCN, helping fill their own toolboxes so that they are never again confronted with a challenge they cannot fix.

My challenge to triumph

Now, as HABD’s Director of Workforce Development, a homeowner, and the proud mom of two college educated sons, I’m proud to boast of my participation in the WILAH program – and, I’m even more proud to share my story of challenge to triumph.

It is because of organizations like the Women Under Construction Network and programs like What I Learned at Home that women in Birmingham no longer have to go without because of their income, residence, or relationship status.

After all, who would have thought that a woman once on the verge of eviction and in the midst of bankruptcy with an empty toolbox would find her cup overflowing with gainful employment, a new home, and endless opportunities to be a vessel for other women to find the same?

Jacqueline French has served in multiple roles for the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District (HABD) since 2016. She currently serves as the Director of Workforce Development. Jacqueline is also President of Naomi H. Truman Scholarship Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides financial education assistance to HABD public housing and Section 8 residents.

David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown.  He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).

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Invite David to speak for free to your group about how we can have a more prosperous metro Birmingham. dsher@comebacktown.com.