Amanda’s Story: What happens when you invest in a woman?
Meet Amanda. She’s proof of the ripple effect created when you invest in a woman and empower her to take control of her life path.
When Amanda was a preteen, her family moved to a new town, where she was intensely bullied. Looking to fit in, she connected with what she calls a group of “party kids,” experimenting with alcohol use and getting suspended often in the years to come. Amanda had her first child shortly after graduating from high school, and while she worked and attended community college, she also continued a “party lifestyle” that kept her in a downward spiral.
She was seriously injured in two different car accidents — one of which was caused by her boyfriend driving under the influence — which led to an addiction to prescription painkillers and eventually, heroin. “I went as low as you can imagine,” Amanda remembers, describing how she survived many of the horrors associated with that drug, including homelessness, prostitution, and sexual assault. “I finally reached a point where I knew I needed help…otherwise I was going to die like this.”
The very next day, she was arrested on drug charges, which she sees as divine intervention. During that treatment program, she was deeply inspired by seeing other women who were able to stay sober; although she struggled to make that happen for herself, that inspiration remained with her. Two cycles of recovery and relapse followed, but in 2017, she finally found the strength to go back into treatment at the Hoving Home, a program that serves women whose lives have been shattered by their addictions to drugs and alcohol.
There, she was introducted to our partner Unshattered, a nonprofit social enterprise creating beautiful, one of a kind bags and accessories from upcycled fabrics, handcrafted by women who are thriving in recovery. Unshattered is empowering women to choose sobriety through economic independence and purposeful employment.
“I’ve always been creative,” she says, “so that creative piece came naturally to me. I really thrived there.”
Unshattered’s investment in Amanda has helped her stay sober for more than six years now, and today, she’s the company’s creative lead and product manager. “I am responsible for maintaining the brand aesthetic and the seasonal direction, as well as developing and managing product offerings,” explains Amanda. “As creative lead, I come up with new designs, or at least take ideas for new designs. We’re busy and I’m so excited to see how far Unshattered has come.” The company has moved from the basement of the Hoving Home to its own production space and retail boutique, and is now expanding to an ever larger space this Spring.
Unshattered made an investment in Amanda, and while she’s paying that investment back to them and other women who join the program, gaining economic independence through her work empowers Amanda to pay that investment forward to her family and community. It means she has a car and resources so she can be there for her three children, including a four-year-old son who is about to start school in the Fall. “My oldest daughter lives with me and is going to college, and we are trying to purchase a house soon.”
Amanda shared her story at the White House, with the Business Council of New York State, and on the steps of the capitol building in Albany last year. She was selected as a 40 under 40 award recipient through the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce in 2021. She is nine classes away from her bachelor’s degree in business administration and has been on the dean’s list every semester. In 2022, she earned her certification as a Peer Recovery Advocate through the NY State Certification Board, which allows her to give back to the recovery community as well as help the women coming out of recovery programs during the onboarding process at Unshattered.
What does “invest in women” mean to Amanda?
“When someone believes in you and is willing to make an investment in you,” she says, “it shows you that you can have courage in the face of adversity.”
Our mission is to help more women like Amanda to not only enter and stay in the workforce but to have the courage and tools to reimagine their futures. Let’s get to work!
Beth Bengtson
Founder & CEO, Working for Women
www.workingforwomen.org
beth@workingforwomen.org
@workingforwomen
