Diana

Working and Thriving with Project Renewal

As a full-time employee at Marsha’s House—Project Renewal’s shelter for LGBTQ+ young adults experiencing homelessness—Diana can relate deeply to its residents. She loves helping them overcome similar struggles she faced as a young person.

A member of the LGBTQ+ community herself, Diana became involved in drugs and the party lifestyle as a teenager. She struggled to hold down a job and was homeless for two years in her mid-20s, often spending nights on the 6 train. 

After a stint in rehab, a friend recommended she check out Project Renewal’s Next Step Internship Program. The program helps unemployed and low-income New Yorkers find jobs in the homeless services industry.

Diana became the first intern to work at the newly-opened Marsha’s House, immediately impressing the staff with her work ethic. She was hired full-time as a residential aide after completing her internship. “Once I started working, I felt good,” Diana says. “I actually felt that I was accomplishing something.”

Diana’s job gave her the stability she needed. Now sober for over two years and living on her own, she is taking five classes a semester at Monroe College, where she has a 4.0 GPA. She is thriving in her job and was recently promoted to supervisor. 

“It means so much to me to work at Project Renewal, because they helped me renew my own life, ” Diana says.