By Kimberly Parker
It’s always in this first month of the year that we tend to talk a lot about new beginnings. We hear such statements as …
“I’m going to watch what I eat.”
“I’m going to exercise more.”
“I’m going to spend more time with family or friends.”
“I’m going to cut back on my spending.”
The list goes on and on.
I also think for the past couple of years we have all started the new year believing that a new beginning was within reach, that COVID would be gone and life could go back to “normal.” We are probably realizing that this isn’t necessarily the case, but learning that we simply have to live in new ways while a pandemic continues.
At the Central Outreach and Advocacy Center, we are certainly experiencing new beginnings! Two of our long-time staff members left the OAC in December so we are looking at where we are as a team and determining what we need as we move forward. Amy Kirkland has joined our team as a new Administrative Assistant. We have added two new volunteers and a new Clinical Pastoral Education intern. And we have just completed a new three year strategic plan that will guide our work over the coming months.
New beginnings are happening at the OAC and we are excited!
I believe that the services we offer at the OAC help our guests to experience new beginnings also. Think about what it would be like to not have any identification at all. Without proof of your birth or your Social Security number, it’s as if you don’t exist. Without state identification, a person cannot really do anything else. So, for our guests, it is a new beginning when one holds their birth certificate for the first time or has that all important Social Security card in their hands. It’s a fresh start or a new beginning!
I hope you will stay tuned in to Central OAC. Follow us on social media. Watch for our monthly blog posts. We are excited for new beginnings!