Ella M. Clark Leased Housing Coordinator for the Housing Choice Voucher Program

Past “I worked for 20 years as a manager at McDonald’s.” Now she has been working 14 years in the Human Services. A few years ago Ella worked both manager and McDonald’s (night shift) and as a Human Services proffesional.

Ella works for a private sector. “I conduct interviews for the eligibility for the HCV program, collect and maintain information for applicants and participants. Verifying information for eligibility purposes, computing rents for participants. I work with persons from the lower socioeconomic levels, disabled persons, and elderly.”

Education History “I have my Associates Degree in Human Services from Tompkins Cortland Community College, my Family Development Credentials from Cornell University and Bachelor’s degree in Children and Family Studies from Empire State College.” “ I am now attending Syracuse University online to further my education. There is much more to the Human Services work now then there was when I first started.” She plans on getting her Masters at SU.

Path Choice “I wanted to help people reach their goals. I started out wanting to work with runaway and homeless youth.” Have you questioned your path choice? “Yes, more so recently. Sometimes you get those who feel they are entitled to services and those who are not appreciative of anything. Those people seem to stick out more than those who are appreciative and work very hard to do their part.”

Do you make a difference? “Most of the time ,yes. Even though the majority of my responsibility is housing people I do have the opportunity to assist them in solving some dilemmas and connecting them with the appropriate services that they need.” Ella does more of the interviewing but she does go out into the field and do inspections and help her other employees when needed.

Opinion “I feel that it is both frustrating and rewarding. Helping people is amazing.” Words Of Wisdom “Take the time to breathe and take a break for yourself. Working with people can be very taxing on your mental and emotional health. Make sure that your are taking care of yourself. Always remember why you chose this field. The reward of helping someone is far better the negative.”