While attending high school in New York, Carolyn Moseley became interested in joining the Army. She knew it would be a great opportunity for her to travel, learn new skills and eventually have financial support to go to college. So, at age 17, Carolyn found herself in basic training for the U.S. Army in Alabama, embarking on a service journey that would span over 16 years. She served four and a half years in active duty and over eleven years in the Army National Guard. Carolyn’s travels brought her to Texas, Georgia, Japan and a one year tour of duty in Iraq, where she learned many skills, including those of a physician assistant. By the age of 21, Carolyn was running a Medic Advanced OR unit.

In 2000, Carolyn achieved her college goal when she graduated from UMass Boston with a BA in Legal Education. She subsequently embarked on her dream career as a legal assistant/fiduciary accountant until her work world came to a crashing halt when she was laid off in 2012. According to Carolyn, “Not knowing if I would get another job quickly, I applied for unemployment and started the process of looking for work in my career field. In the next two years, [I continued my job search, but was not] able to find anything in my field. Since I had worked in the accounting field, I brushed up on my accounting skills and started applying for positions, and still nothing.”

In the meantime, Carolyn lost her apartment and ended up living in her car for a few weeks. When she ran out of fuel, she called upon a friend for help. Her friend suggested she contact Father Bill’s, a homeless shelter in Quincy. After a few months, she found temporary housing through the VA at Jeff’s Place in Brockton, and ultimately through the VA case worker, found a permanent home at Jack’s Place which provides new housing for veterans and families struggling with homelessness.

Over the years, Carolyn has managed to pick up a variety of temporary and contract assignment jobs and was approved for Food Stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to help sustain her. Through SNAP, Carolyn was referred to the Brockton office of Training Resources of America (TRA) where she enrolled in the SNAP Path to Work program. Since then, through TRA, she has earned certificates in ServSafe Food Handler and National Retail Federation Customer Service, and has been recognized for her efforts by the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance at an Award Ceremony at the State House and her State Representative Gerard J. Cassidy. Carolyn continues to work hard with TRA staff to find permanent employment.

We thank you for your service, Carolyn! And we are honored to assist you in this next phase of your journey!

Click here for more on Carolyn's story: https://youtu.be/2xXctRW9EM0

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