I would like to take a moment to say happy retirement to Sue Shannon!
Sue for more than a decade has been the Executive Director of Hopeworx. Sue met me when I was really struggling. I was homeless, lost, and very new to accepting my own personal challenges with mental health. She gave me a chance and hired me to be part of the Community Satisfaction team at Hopeworx. I struggled with being able to “show vulnerability” or even talking about my challenges.
Working at HopeWorx changed my life! Not just in the sense of income to maintain housing but as an individual and that is largely as a result of Sue and her ability to see things from many different viewpoints. I can honestly say we may not have always seen “ eye to eye”, but I’ve always respected the fact that she always had people’s best interests at heart. Through the years working with Sue, I have seen the effect she has had on many people. Not just staff but guests. She has an uncanny way of showing people their strengths they didn’t even know they had. She didn’t give up on anyone. If they weren’t thriving in one area of HopeWorx rather than letting them go, she provided opportunities for people to move to different areas of HopeWorx and find their niche.
She was patient, kind and yes sometimes tough but that was usually because she knew we were capable of more. With all the current changes at HopeWorx, I’m sure it has all been extremely hard on her and I don’t think many people realized how much she truly loved HopeWorx and the work we were doing. Even when funding was tight or non-existent for particular things, she found a way. She poured her heart and soul into every single day even while facing her own personal losses and wellbeing. I wish nothing more than a stress-free, happy retirement for her. I know that she will be missed.
Please take a moment to thank Sue if she has affected your life and wish her all the best in this new chapter of her life. I won’t get too mushy here because I know she’d hate that, but I am truly a better person for knowing her and consider her a dear friend.
