CLIPBOARD
HEALTH
HEALTH
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Samara
Speakes
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Admin
New Vitae Wellness
At my core, I'm an athlete. I played basketball for many years, and I was a scholarship athlete. I had aspirations of playing professionally, but even as a child, I always liked helping people. That comes from my parents, the essence of who they are.
I went to college in Philly, got my Master's degree here. I’m a product of the public school system, and I specifically wanted to work with at-risk youths. I started in children's residential services as a mentor and through my passion to affect change, ended up in leadership. I didn’t set out wanting to run something, but I always thought, if I could get to this position, then I can affect this thing, and when I got to that position, I would notice something else that I wanted to change or support.
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I came to New Vitae 4 years ago, and New Vitae has trusted me with their Philadelphia programs. The residential treatment facility for adults in Philly each can serve up to 36 residents. Our mobile program and peer support serves as a complement. The people who leave here continue to receive community-based services from us - we’ve created a continuity of care. You watch our guys who've come from prison, who did not see a future, we pour into them, and you watch them flourish. They're working out, they're grocery shopping, they're practicing for their driver's exams. We have one guy who signed up to go to welding school and we supported them through that - it's beautiful to see.
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I didn’t set out wanting to run something, but I always thought, if I could get to this position, then I can affect this thing, and when I got to that position, I would notice something else that I wanted to change or support.
About six years ago, I lost my mother. She was always the person who saw stardom in me that I didn't see in myself. I was the only girl in my neighborhood who played basketball, but I wasn't given the same opportunities as some of the boys. There was no girls' league, there were no opportunities for me to play. My mom goes around to the Police Athletic League, talks to an officer, and I play in my first organized basketball league - all boys - because she told me, “You can do it, too.” She's always been like that. When I think I can't be an administrator, she would say, “What do you mean? You’ve been leading all your life.”
Don't give up, and make sure you're in it for the right reasons. It's very easy to want to do a job because you see a price tag associated with it, but to do this work, you have to be in it for the right reasons. It's about helping people - it’s not the politics or the supervisor. Don't give up, don't get discouraged, you will make mistakes, that’s how you grow. Just make sure you're in it for the right reasons, and if you are, it will come - whatever you aspire to do in the field will come.
