Diana Mitchell, Chief Program Officer
Diana Mitchell has been an Inner Voice employee for almost two decades and during that time has held many titles—Residential Aide, Case Manager, and Supervisor—to name a few. She’s now the organization’s Chief Program Officer, managing the operations of all Inner Voice’s programs and overseeing more than 15 employees. But how did she get her start at Inner Voice? As a TAB House resident more than 20 years ago, Diana and her six children lived in Inner Voice’s women and children’s transitional living house with 15 other families, where Inner Voice’s motto was clear. “You’re not just here for yourself, you’re here for someone else. You made it this far? Now reach back, and bring someone else along with you.” That message has certainly stuck with Diana, who has dedicated her life to helping others in need. Diana was a young mother and a victim of domestic violence, battling addiction and living in a battered women’s shelter when they recommended she complete an outpatient program. She called three locations and the first two didn’t have any appointments for at least a week. The third program she called was Inner Voice, who to her surprise, told her to be there the next day at 9 a.m. It was clear in that moment how Inner Voice was different from other organizations. Their commitment to providing immediate aid to those in need benefitted Diana, who at that time had no idea that phone call would be the start of a more than two-decade long journey with Inner Voice.
She began her outpatient program, completed a GED program, and ultimately was able to regain custody of her children. The seven of them moved into the TAB House, where they lived beside 15 other families. The TAB House was a safe place for Diana and her children to relearn how to live as a family, dividing chores among one another, learning how to budget and providing them with structure and a daily routine. When Diana was able to move her family into a place of their own, so much of what they learned in the TAB House came with them, including budgeting practices and family night, where one night a week was dedicated to spending time together. “Every Friday night in the TAB House we’d order takeout pizza for all of the kids and families. If one family didn’t have enough money to cover their part, the rest of the families would chip in to make sure that family ate as well as everyone else did.” The TAB House fostered a living environment where you were expected to help take care of the other people around you when they needed it, and even once they left that didn’t stop Diana and her children from living with this selfless mentality.
After accepting a full-time position with Inner Voice as a Residential Aide, Diana continued to rise up the ranks in the organization, but it was the new responsibility she received with each role, not the position titles, that she cared about. “I'm not really into titles because I'm here to be of service. But I recognized that the more responsibility I got, the more opportunities and challenges I had to learn something new,” said Diana. “A lot of my experience comes from bumping my head and putting in late nights and early mornings, trying to understand what is in front of me because I want to make sure that I do my best. I want to make sure that I succeed and do what I need to do because people are dependent on me. If I didn't have this title, and I was given this responsibility, I would still do it.”
Now happily married with six grandchildren, Diana has no doubt what her passion and purpose is—to help other people. When reflecting on why she’s spent so many years working for Inner Voice, she says, “It’s just in me. It became a part of who I am. That’s the only way I can explain it.”
Carl Miller, Former Participant
Carl Miller’s 20-plus year history with Inner Voice began when he first came to the Eddie Beard Veterans’ House as a resident. After completing treatment for the third time for his drug and alcohol addiction, Carl was ready for a different environment. In his interview with Eddie Beard, “Eddie told me, ‘What I’m going to do is I’m going to trust you until you give me a reason not to,’” Carl said. “And right then and there, I knew I was going to be okay. My mind was made up that this was going to be it.”
After successfully transitioning out of the house, Carl immediately began volunteering with Inner Voice, which he continues to do one to two days a week - every week. At the Pioneer House and Eddie Beard Veterans’ House, Carl spends one-on-one time with residents, listening to them, sharing his own story and giving advice, with the goal of helping them to leave the house in a different place then when they came in. “If I can help save one or two of them, then I'm doing my part. They don't know that helping them helps me.” Carl spent a little over a year in the Eddie Beard Veterans’ House where he thrived in the environment, appreciating the structure, support from the counselors and conversations he’d have with Inner Voice employees and former Inner Voice clients. “They wouldn’t sugarcoat anything, and that’s what I liked. I could tell these guys were talking from the heart, so I would take their suggestions and follow their leads, and it worked out for me.”
When it was time for him to leave the house, it was a bittersweet moment. “I wasn’t ready to leave. I was loving it there and I was doing good, but I didn’t have a fear when I was leaving. I knew I wasn’t going to mess up again.” It’s been over 20 years since he lived in the Eddie Beard Veterans’ House, but some of Carl’s closest friends today are the people he met through Inner Voice. He still meets with six other Inner Voice alumni for breakfast once a month, and maintains strong relationships with former and current staff.
Carl’s long-term relationship with and commitment to Inner Voice has benefitted hundreds of men who have come through the Eddie Beard Veterans’ House and Pioneer House over the years, with his willingness to share his own experiences and ability to relate to the residents on a personal level. It’s also helped him to maintain a strong foundation in his sobriety. “Inner Voice is like my plug-in,” said Carl. “If I start feeling any kind of distress, I’ll come here. Sometimes I’ll just sit for 10 minutes with the residents, and then I’ll go home and I’m okay. This is my safe place.” Carl’s pride in Inner Voice and belief in its mission is evident—just check his wallet. “I still have my first Inner Voice volunteer card that I got 20-something years ago. I carry it with me everywhere I go.”
Mona Echols, Former Participant
After losing her mother at 18 years old, Mona Echols was left to fend for herself at a young age. As a single parent with two young children and an eviction notice in hand, she didn’t know where to go or how she was going to put a roof over her children’s heads—so she came to Inner Voice. “Inner Voice gave me an apartment, and giving me that apartment gave me life,” said Mona. Knowing she had secured an apartment, Mona and her children had the restart they needed, and she has made the most of the new beginning Inner Voice gave her ever since. In recovery for over 24 years now, Mona owns her own home, is self-employed and successfully runs three child-care centers where she employs more than 15 women, which she sees as an opportunity for her to give back. “I don’t just employ these young ladies, I mentor them,” said Mona. “I’m able to encourage them and show them how it worked for me, and if I was able to come out of it, so can you.” Today, Mona maintains relationships with many former and current members of the Inner Voice staff, and looks for any opportunity to give back to the organization that she credits with helping her get to where she is today.
Mona came to Inner Voice with specific goals of what she wanted to achieve in both her personal and professional life, but without any family or a solid support network, it was challenging to find a way to start working towards them. Inner Voice opened the door for her and helped her to take that first step, but it was Mona’s determination and resilience that has led her to all of her success and accomplishments today. She entered Inner Voice with a high school diploma and since then has received her associate’s degree and bachelor’s degree, sharing the importance of education with the women she employs and mentors.
“I talk to them about their own goals and what they want for their education, careers and family, and if it’s something you really want and I can help you, I'm going to do so. Someone helped me, and if I can do that for someone else, and I lay down at night feeling like I did something good for someone else, that's heaven for me,” said Mona.
Whether it’s contributing financially, sharing information about Inner Voice with friends and strangers in person and on social media, serving meals to Inner Voice clients with her children on holidays, or donating clothes and other resources, Mona makes it a priority to give whatever she can to Inner Voice. Recently, when Inner Voice’s Pioneer House needed a new stove, Mona donated over half amount towards a new one. “I’m still looking to advance in my career and get to an even better position, so that I can be able to give more to Inner Voice and help even more people,” Mona said. “This is the place to give to. They give back on every level to our veterans, to our single parents, mothers, families. I don’t know any other place like it.”
“I'm hoping that other individuals see where I've come from and hopefully, they can have a glimpse of hope because I was in this world by myself, and just being able to come to Inner Voice and confide in someone about what was really going on with me, I was able to get the help that was really needed, and that one step led to everything else.”
Dion West, Former Participant
Dion West returned to Chicago after serving in the Navy to take care of his cancer-stricken father, but after he passed away, Dion found himself living in a neighborhood in Chicago where violence was prevalent and without much family support. Despite his successful career in the Navy, he was homeless and struggling to find a job. Dion was eventually referred to Inner Voice, where he found a home at the Eddie Beard Veterans’ House. As a young veteran living in a house alongside predominantly older veterans coming from different backgrounds, Dion took advantage of being surrounded by this community of men who were more than 20 years his senior, learning from their experiences, successes and mistakes, and picking up valuable life lessons along the way.
Now, Dion is on the other side and is a full-time employee at Inner Voice where he works as a Residential Aide at the Eddie Beard Veterans’ House. “I tell the current guys living in the house that I was here, I know exactly what you are going through, and look where I’m at now. You could be here for a while, this is a transitional period, but there's something good on the other end of this if you choose to chase it.” Dion made the most out of living in the Eddie Beard Veterans’ House with his fellow veterans, gaining mentors and continually seeking out professional development opportunities, but when he first moved in, he wasn’t initially receptive to receiving help. “At the time I was young and arrogant. I thought, ‘I know what I'm supposed to do! I don't need any help, I got it.’" But as he started to gravitate towards the other men in the house, he began opening up about his own past, asking questions and most importantly, listening to what they had to say. “Slowly but surely, the guys started to take me under their wing and say, ‘Come here, let me show you this, let me tell you this, this is how you do this, this is what you don't do,’” Dion said. “That was my breakthrough moment in the House, and when things really started to change for me.”
Dion’s passion for helping veterans was clear, and Inner Voice helped him to secure a job at a local nonprofit dedicated to helping veterans, where he ultimately became the Director of Operations. Despite having a full-time job helping veterans find housing and learn transitional skills, Dion continued to volunteer with Inner Voice once he moved out of the Eddie Beard Veterans’ House. Eventually, he was offered a full-time position with Inner Voice as a Residential Aide at the Eddie Beard Veterans’ House and now works for both organizations. “Even though I was still doing something else, when the position opened up at Inner Voice, I wanted to find a way to do both jobs because I see the good Inner Voice does for veterans. This is pretty much the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done—giving back and not expecting anything in return,” Dion said. “You know that you can't save everybody, but if you can reach one person out of twenty, you did good. The good thing about this is, you reach more than that one person.”
The Eddie Beard Veterans’ House and Inner Voice have provided thousands of people in need a safe place to go, and it’s been the first page in the beginning of a new chapter for so many, including Dion. “In a world of so much negativity, there's still this little spot, this little organization that's out here in the midst of all that chaos doing something positive. That's a start,” Dion said. “In places like this, like Inner Voice, it's a seed for something bigger.”
Dion’s experience as both a client and an employee at Inner Voice has provided him with a unique perspective on the organization, and has made him a valuable resource for current veterans and clients to know what it takes to successfully transition out of a program. “If you come here, and you're actually seeking help, you just need to have that drive to actually do something. Inner Voice offers you all the pieces of the puzzle, all you have to do is put that puzzle together. So that's what I did.”