themselves. We all have different paths and all paths take different amounts of time to complete. I love the comeback story. I like seeing people grow and develop after getting the resources they receive from coming here.” Nowadays, Everett is primarily focused on helping ASF reach the community, establish partnerships, and continue to expand. Everett lauded the support of Fayette Street Outreach, particularly its vice president, Tim Bridges, and noted that client referrals are the ultimate key to growth. “The partnerships that we’ve forged with neighborhood churches and other local organizations have been incredibly important,” Everett said. “These organizations see the work that we do with clients and realize our value. However, the best type of networking, and the best type of advertising, comes from client referrals. When somebody walks into A Step Forward as one person and then leaves as a dramatically improved person, that’s the best possible form of marketing. It’s better than a billboard, commercial, brochure, or anything else you can think of. With that said, we are also fortunate to have a wonderful board of directors and Tim Bridges is great at networking.” Everett is proud that ASF has bolstered its housing services and now offers a Residential-Low Intensity Level 3.1 Program. Moreover, she is proud that ASF hasn’t needed to lay off anyone during the pandemic. “The pandemic has destroyed so many organizations,” Everett said. “But we’ve been creative and flexible. We’ve been able to retain our entire staff during this unprecedented time. In my eyes, that’s a huge accomplishment and one that I’m very proud of.” Naturally, as a finance director, Everett is constantly trying to identify growth opportunities and seeking ways to leverage ASF’s success. Although that mindset may diminish her popularity around the workplace, it’s utterly critical to the nonprofit organization’s overall health. “I push numbers and I’m keenly aware that you can’t do anything without money,” Everett said. “Providing needed services to the clients and making sure we remain financially viable is like walking a fine line. A Step Forward is now sustainable and that’s a tremendous achievement because, when I first came here, getting grant funding was difficult. We all sat down and developed a strategy to become a self-funded organization and, since then, we’ve been able to get CARF accredited and become Medicaid and Medicare providers. Even though we have a lot more work to do, we are definitely heading in the right direction.” With Porshia Everett crunching the numbers, it’s safe to predict that A Step Forward will continue “heading in the right direction.”
A Way With Numbers
“I was stationed in Lima, Peru, with the South America region, but we covered multiple countries, including Columbia, Brazil and Ecuador,” Everett, who worked for USAID (the United States Agency for International Development), said. “In 2006, I was relieved of duty due to illness and several other extenuating circumstances. I was basically put in a situation where I couldn’t work, so I decided to volunteer for many nonprofit organizations. I was doing what I loved, but feeling like I had failed miserably.” In 2009, Everett agreed to help ASF’s founder, Dr. Lela Campbell, work on a grant. Everett enjoyed working with Campbell and appreciated having “an opportunity to talk with clients, learn about them, and understand why they were chronically homeless.” Although at ASF through 2015, Everett frequently wondered if she could again work in a political environment. Thus, she accepted a position at Bread for the World in Washington, D.C. In this role, she had the opportunity to work with an organization that provided statistical information to Congress and the Senate about poverty in the U.S. and around the world, especially severe poverty affecting women and children. This organization worked tirelessly to help develop legislation and policies to eradicate hunger and poverty. In 2017, Campbell asked Everett if she’d be interested in returning to Baltimore to contract with ASF to complete a project. She agreed and, after completing the project and considering options, the Floridian accepted Campbell’s offer to join her spiritually based, nonprofit organization that provides support services to individuals recovering from drug and alcohol abuse and other life-threatening issues again. “If you ask my mother, she’ll say that I’ve always talked to people who were impacted by homelessness,” Everett recounted. “As a child, I would often invite them to our home”. When I did my internship at a homeless shelter, that’s when I felt a spark and knew this was my calling. Being here, and seeing how the staff works with clients and gives them steps, has really inspired me. I’ve seen people change their lives and, basically, get reintroduced to
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