Five years ago, Lisette walked through the doors of Working Wardrobes during one of the most difficult chapters of her life. Recently, she returned through those same doors—but this time, as a community partner helping others find their own path forward.
Before coming to Working Wardrobes, Lisette had experienced homelessness and was struggling with methamphetamine addiction. After losing nearly everything, including her sense of hope, she entered treatment and began rebuilding her life.
As her recovery progressed, Lisette was ready to find employment, but she lacked the professional clothing and financial resources she needed to prepare for an interview. That was when she was referred to Working Wardrobes.
Working Wardrobes provided Lisette with professional clothing, gas cards and assistance paying for her Registered Alcohol and Drug Technician (RADT) certification—each helping remove a barrier between her and her next opportunity.
One experience has stayed with her all these years: the day she came in for her interview outfit. While shopping with a volunteer, Lisette spotted a pair of brown-and-white pumps inside a glass display case. She assumed they were off-limits until the volunteer noticed her looking at them and opened the case.
“I felt like Cinderella getting her glass slippers.”
— Lisette, Working Wardrobes Alumna
She put on the complete outfit and looked at herself in the mirror.
“I was glowing. I felt beautiful. I felt professional. Most importantly, I felt capable,” Lisette remembers.
Lisette walked into her interview with renewed confidence—and got the job. That opportunity helped her move out of the motel where she had been living while establishing her sobriety and into an apartment of her own.
Support with her RADT certification also helped lay the foundation for a career dedicated to helping others. Lisette continued her education and professional credentials, eventually becoming an Alcohol and Drug Counselor.
Today, she works with City Net in Anaheim, supporting individuals experiencing homelessness and many of the same challenges she once faced. She connects people with treatment, shelter, recovery services and other resources, while using her lived experience to remind them that their circumstances do not have to define their future.
“I know what it feels like to need someone to see something in you that you can’t yet see in yourself,” Lisette says. “And I know how much one opportunity, one resource, or one person believing in you can change the direction of your life.”
Recently, Lisette’s journey came full circle when she returned to Working Wardrobes with her City Net colleagues for a tour.
“I went from being the person receiving the resource to being someone who can connect another person to that resource,” Lisette says.
Lisette’s journey is a reminder that the impact of an opportunity can extend far beyond a single moment. An interview outfit can restore confidence. A gas card can remove a barrier. A certification can become the first step toward a meaningful career.
For Lisette, those opportunities helped change the trajectory of her life. Today, she is creating opportunities for others.
“You may not always get to see what happens years later,” Lisette says, “but I hope my story is a reminder that the seeds you plant in someone’s life can grow far beyond what you ever imagined.”