SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Six years ago, Tommie Rodgers found herself in desperate straits. Then a 30-year-old single mother, the East Chicago native had lost custody of her three youngest children because of a crack cocaine habit. To get her children back from the state, she turned to the Center for the Homeless, a nonprofit facility known for helping people down on their luck become self sufficient.

        “I'd been through many treatments, but I'd never experienced this type of support before,” Mrs. Rodgers said. “They totally turned my life around.”

        Today Mrs. Rodgers — who learned of the center while staying at the South Bend YWCA — is nearing the end of a year-long internship at the Center for the Homeless as an AmeriCorps volunteer. Drug-free for 2 1/2 years, she now works as an adult education assistant at the center, tutoring students who are working toward their high school equivalency diploma, as well as helping center guests who need help with basic academic skills or college preparation.

        Married two years ago, the 36-year-old South Bend resident and her family now live in a rented, three-bedroom home. When her AmeriCorps internship ends in September, she plans to get a degree in social work or early childhood education.

        “Because she's a former guest (at the center) and she's been there, they really relate to her,” said Debbie Lane, adult education coordinator for the center.

        Besides placing center guests with everyone from Goodwill to Memorial Hospital, the homeless center also employs guests in a commercial landscaping business that helps subsidize center operations.

        Jennifer Hilleary, 26, credits the center's programs with helping her turn her life around after a falling out with her family and ex-fiance.

        A friend had heard of the Center for the Homeless in South Bend and recommended that Ms. Hilleary and her children go there for help in starting a new life.

        “Before I came to the center, I was a spoiled little brat,” Ms. Hilleary said. “If I got upset with a boss, I'd just quit.”

        After arriving at the Center for the Homeless two years ago, Ms. Hilleary immersed herself in Starting Over, Stepping Higher, a program that teaches basic life skills, such as getting along with others, and Bravo, Goodwill Industries' jobs readiness program.

        When she was pregnant with her year-old twins, the center helped Ms. Hilleary find work with a temporary agency. Last October, she took a job as a sales associate with Goodwill Industries.

        In February, the former 10-month guest of the Center for the Homeless was named Employee of the Month for the 16 Goodwill stores in the Michiana area. On May 5, Ms. Hilleary was promoted to head cashier.

        “Jen has definite goals in mind, and she goes after them,” said Bev Kovacs, who manages the Goodwill store where Ms. Hilleary works. “She has an excellent rapport with her co-workers too. We just love her to death.”

Erpenbeck insider tells story
Schools seek support for $1B rebuilding
Rockdale leads off project
Plans include teams, services
Seniors await relief on prescriptions
SMITH AMOS: Is my money really safe at Peoples?
BRONSON: 'Economic apartheid' blatant bunch of baloney
PULFER: Refreshing our melting pot
Xavier graduates hear plea for 'irrelevance'
Lewinsky lawyer addresses UC law grads
Good News: Volunteers coach teen athletes on studies
Woman's body found in car
Local Digest
Man drives van into Fairmount house
Scouts demonstrate skills
Celeste named college head
Homeless center debate mirrors Indiana's
Ind. homeless center turning lives around
Bank robbed in Ft. Wright
Boy, 11, killed by truck on Ky. 330
Doctors avoiding sex abuse screening
Teacher accused of hitting sleeping students