Being so far away from home pulled Jennifer Rogers and her family back to Plant City, Florida, this summer. She had moved to Mississippi four years ago for the change of scenery when her mother-in-law moved to the Magnolia State.
Fortunately for Jennifer, she was able to take advantage of the Second Chance Mississippi program while she was in Lamar County. Her 5-year-old daughter, Dakota, was enrolled in the pre-kindergarten program.
“When my daughter, Dakota, started going to PRVO (Pearl River Valley Opportunity Head Start), there were pictures of other women on the wall,” said Rogers, who had been a home health aide. “I just asked about it and when Heather (Lyons, Lamar County Second Chance coordinator) told me about the program, I told her I wanted to do it. It looked like a good opportunity.”
Second Chance Mississippi is an organization started by former attorneys Dickie Scruggs and his son, Zach Scruggs, who both served federal prison sentences for bribing a judge. Second Chance partnered with Pearl River Community College and other community colleges around the state.
The Lamar County School District reaped the benefits of the program when PRCC offered the services to the local parents whose children were attending pre-K classes.
“With the opening of Sumrall pre-K and addition of Lumberton to our schools, our collaborative now reaches 220 families,” Lyons said. “We have begun meeting with parents to determine their educational needs and plug them into programs at PRCC.”
Rogers, who worked at Bedford Care Center before she returned to Florida, said the Second Chance program helped her.
“I think it paid off for me,” she said. “I enjoy what I do. In my new job, I’m a CNA at an assisted-living facility. This one is a jailed assisted-living facility, so I have everything from rehab patients to people on hospice.”
Moving to Mississippi was a big change for Rogers and her family.
“I loved it, but I just missed being at home with my family,” she said. “I’ve been in Florida since mid-July. I became a certified nurse’s assistant in Mississippi and it transferred to Florida. I started my new job the second week of August. Being away from home for four years, I was ready to come home.”
Before she left Mississippi, Rogers and her husband, Justin, were able to take advantage of shorter training courses in the Second Chance Program, she said.
“Justin actually got forklift certified through Second Chance,” she said. “It’s definitely a good program. I did mine in April with a three-week day class. Heather used to rap at me because I went to school during the day, then I would come home, go to work at night, take care of my kids and cook dinner and everything in between.”
A certified nursing assistant serves as an assistant to registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and other nursing and health care professionals. Entry-level professionals, CNAs, which are also known as nurse aides and nurse’s assistants, provide basic, day-to-day care for patients in nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living centers and other health care facilities. Because minimal training is required and demand is high, this is a popular profession and one that many use as a springboard into a long, rewarding career in nursing.
The precise nature of CNA duties varies depending on where they work. A CNA working in a hospital is likely to have a completely different workday than one who works in a nursing home.
Rogers said a nurse is a special person.
“You have to be a different kind of person to be a nurse,” she said. “You have to have commitment, and if you don’t have love or patience, you are not going to be happy.”
For Rogers, the reward comes from the patients.
“I enjoy making them smile,” she said. “If I can make their day a little bit better – even if it’s not their last day – then I’ve done my job. My goal is to make them laugh at least once a day and I know that they have had an OK day.”
With her graduation as a certified nurse’s assistant, Rogers has developed the confidence and dedication to be a nurse.
“It probably sounds a little conceited, but I am good at my job,” she said. “I really enjoy what I do and that makes a difference.”
