Bucks County Opportunity Council, Inc.
Sandra Miller

Sandra Miller had a long history of bad luck. Her college career was disrupted in the 1980’s by undiagnosed mononucleosis that led to liver damage, quarantine and missing a year of school. Sandy ultimately dropped out with two years toward a psychology degree and no clear plan for the future.

In 1998, Sandy was working nights as a waitress at an exclusive country club. One evening, she opened the linen closet and several heavy bundles of starched linen fell onto her, knocking her to the floor. She sustained injuries to her neck and spinal column which never fully healed and made it painful for her to bend or carry things.

It was the end of Sandy’s career as a waitress, a job that she tolerated because she could be home during the day with her children and still earn enough money to make ends meet, though barely. It was also the beginning of a six-year journey that would lead to destitution and the brink of despair before it set her firmly on the path to economic self-sufficiency.

The Journey Toward Self-Sufficiency Begins
When Sandy came to the Quakertown office of the Bucks County Opportunity Council (BCOC), she was eight months pregnant, estranged from her husband and unemployed. Her workers’ compensation from the country club had run out. Sandy had come to BCOC because she had heard that the Opportunity Council provided energy assistance. BCOC not only provided her assistance with energy bills; it also introduced her to its food pantry network.

Two years later, Sandy was back. She had been working with the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) and had decided to go back to college, this time for a degree in accounting. She and her three children were living primarily on child support payments, not nearly enough to cover expenses. Sandy wanted a good job and health insurance benefits for herself to complement the CHIP benefits her children received. That’s when Sandy joined BCOC’s Economic Self-sufficiency Program.

A Productive Partnership
With Tammy Scoonover as her case manager, Sandy focused on getting a job that paid a livable wage, had benefits and would still afford her time to attend college and care for her children. Together they polished her resume and Tammy avidly followed Sandy’s progress with job interviews.

Sandy found a job in a bank that provided both good income and benefits while she finished college. She graduated from DeSales University in the spring of 2004 and, a month later, from BCOC’s Economic Self-sufficiency Program, a formal recognition of her successful journey.

“Sandy really did it all herself,” recalls Scoonover. “We helped with small things like car repairs, text books and holiday gifts for the children when things got tight. Sandy is a person who can chart her own way. She just needed moral support.”

Sandy sees it differently, however. “You really need to know that there is someone who cares. You need someone who can appreciate you good times, yet can steer you in the right direction when things go wrong. Tammy did all of that for me. I don’t know if I could have done it without her.”

And what has Sandy learned from the experience? “That you can climb the highest mountain, if you take it one step at a time. I tell this to my children, ‘Don’t look at the mountain; concentrate on the steps.’”