Manchester Resident to Receive Goodwill Achiever of the Year Award

Goodwill of Western and Northern Connecticut has announced the winners of the agency’s annual achievement awards. The presentations will take place at the Annual Achievement Awards Luncheon to be held at 12 noon on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at the Trumbull Marriott on 180 Hawley Lane. Graduate, Achiever, Employer and Community Partner awards will be presented. 

Mancher resident Julia Howell will receive the Goodwill Achiever Award. This award honors individuals with disabilities or other barriers to employment who, while not yet having attained a competitive job in the community, have shown great progress and accomplishment in overcoming barriers to employment while working toward their career goals.

Julia Howell has a form of diabetes so severe it caused her to have four strokes, the first one in early childhood. Medical complications caused her to spend a good portion of her young adulthood in an institution. 

Referred to Goodwill in April of 2011, Julia has made tremendous progress during the past year. She had to make a difficult transition from institutionalized living to community integration. A nurse looks after her medical needs and Goodwill is helping her learn daily living skills. Unable to speak, she communicates through simple sign language or by handwriting or typing

Upon discharge, Julia could not eat meals. Now she cooks and eats three meals per day. This improvement is due to aggressive speech therapy, which has also helped her begin to retrain herself to speak. A cutting edge medical procedure may also help her realize her goal to dance at her brother’s wedding in September.

Julia has learned to handle her own finances. She maintains her own apartment and has rejoined her family in the community. With her diabetes under better control, Julia lives her life according to her own goals now. She intends to pursue Internet education courses and is looking for strategies around her disabilities. Her goals are geared towards helping others who have disabilities.

“Goodwill has helped me so much. I can’t even describe it all. You’ve given me my life back. Thank – you so much!” Julia said.