“I really enjoy the work we have been doing thus far.” – Addy Fowler, HR Consultant, Solutions At Work

The Eddy House is a non-profit located in Reno, Nevada that works with homeless or at-risk youth to develop the necessary skills to live a sustainable and independent life. They do so by providing an array of services for their clients such as;  a 24-hour center, a community living program, a drop-in center, the Eddy House Hope Home, Casa De Vida, and an Outreach Team. Their goal is to end youth homelessness in Northern Nevada.  Since the beginning of June, and going forward into the foreseeable future, Solutions At Work meets weekly with clients of the Eddy House in a classroom setting to provide information, training, and resources. Topics have included interviewing skills, personal branding, resume development, filling out job applications, onboarding, position sourcing, as well as applicable HR-related questions.

Addy Fowler has been with Solutions At Work for almost a year now. We wanted to showcase her volunteer efforts by asking her to share her recent experiences working with the clients at the Eddy House.

Addy was asked what her favorite part about volunteering at the Eddy House was, “One of my favorite parts of going to the Eddy house and working with clients is also the hardest part. Seeing the struggles and tribulations these young adults have gone through and trying to get them to remember that they deserve so much more…,” Addy explains, “I enjoy the interactions with each and every one of the clients because they are all truly such different individuals with different backgrounds and stories.” Addy states that she is currently working with clients to provide more of her personal background of how she also spent time in foster care as a child.   She finds the interactions and experiences with these young people very meaningful.

When asked what Addy’s three-month goal is with volunteering at the Eddy House she responded, “I would like to be able to continue my interactions with the clients, try and see more consistent faces, and attempt to explore if there are additional ways that I, and Solutions At Work, can help them.”

Addy and her coworkers agree that doing this kind of volunteer work is satisfying, but it takes effort, patience, and time to get “buy-in” from class participants.

Addy describes one of her favorite moments at the Eddy House, “I am SO EXCITED for one of the young adults we have been seeing regularly, she just tested and now qualifies for participating in a CAN educational program. I’m hopeful that our short talks over the past couple of months have helped encourage or inspire her, as I constantly ask her what her plans are – or at least how she wants to go about aiming toward her goals. I am so proud of her accomplishment thus far.”

“All of us at Solutions at Work, care deeply about the community we live and work in, here in Reno, and we will continue to use our knowledge and skills to better help others when presented with the opportunity to do so”  – Nicole Murray, CEO, Solutions At Work.