When Jet first connected with Connecting Point’s Employment Services program, she and her four children were starting over.
She had recently left an abusive relationship and returned to Grass Valley, where she grew up. While coming home felt familiar, the circumstances were anything but. Jet describes that moment not as being broken, but as deeply disorienting. “I don’t like to use the word broken,” she says. “But I was definitely feeling defeated and kind of lost… mentally and emotionally and knowing that I deserved better.” Returning meant connecting with Nevada County Social Services and looking for support during a time when everything felt uncertain. Jet was searching for support, but also for direction, something that could help her begin again. That search led her to Connecting Point.
“I was very excited to move forward,” Jet recalls. “I was looking for any stepping stones I could find… to get a hold of the resources to help my situation.” Through the Employment Services program, Jet began attending classes and meeting with staff. What stood out immediately was the sense of connection. “Coming every day, having the group, and seeing, I’m not alone,” she says. “We’re all from different experiences and backgrounds.” Being in that space helped rebuild confidence that had been shaken by trauma. Jet describes the experience as grounding, both practical and emotional. She began to recognize progress not as perfection, but as showing up. “Sometimes it may be the littlest things,” she explains. “I got out of bed. I talked to two people. Whatever it looks like for you.”
Connecting Point also helped Jet reconnect with professionalism and workplace confidence. Through classes, one-on-one support, and observing staff, she relearned how to present herself, ask questions, and step back into a professional environment. “When you go through something traumatic, it kind of knocks you down,” she says. “You have to spend some time getting up and dusting yourself off and saying, ‘This is not going to define me.’” That foundation helped Jet secure an internship with One-Source Empowering Caregivers through the Employment Services program. She started as an administrative intern and quickly found her footing. “I just loved the opportunity,” she says. “It connected me with so many more people in the county.”
Within a few months, Jet was promoted to Volunteer Coordinator. At the same time, she and her family faced significant personal and housing instability. Even then, Jet continued showing up. To work, to school, and in life. “It’s easy to give up,” she says. “It takes a lot of effort and hard work to be strong and hang in.”
Today, Jet is the Executive Director of One-Source Empowering Caregivers. She leads volunteer trainings, conducts home visits, and facilitates caregiver support groups, often working with families in vulnerable moments, meeting them with an understanding shaped by her own journey. “It’s full circle,” Jet says. “Connecting Point helped me to help so many other people.”
Jet is completing degrees in Social Arts and Behavioral Sciences and is preparing for her next chapter, nursing school. Caring for others has always been central to her work, and she sees nursing as a continuation of that commitment. “I’ve learned how important connection is,” she says. “That empathy goes a long way.”
While Jet continues to navigate ongoing challenges, she remains focused on growth rather than perfection. Reflecting on her own experience, Jet offers simple advice to new participants just starting the Employment Services program. “Be open-minded,” she says. “Just try your best. You will get something out of it.”
For Jet, Connecting Point wasn’t just a program, it was a place where she found connection, rebuilt confidence, and gained the foothold she was searching for when she returned to work. And now, years later, that support continues to ripple outward through the people she serves.