Jenn’s Story
Jenn P., a Sonoma homeowner for the last 29 years, has worked her way through many of life’s struggles. She started working at 16 and by the time she was 19 years old, Jenn had worked her way up the corporate ladder at a fast-food location down in Mill Valley. Even after leaving that location, Jenn’s strong work ethic did not diminish as she worked at cafes, delis, and other merchandise stores. At each location, Jenn rose to the top of her field and proudly led her teams to success.
She experienced personal milestones too when she married her husband in 1987 and had their only child in 1991. As her daughter entered her schooling years, Jenn began her career in volunteering as a teacher’s assistant and librarian. She was a loving mother figure to every one of her daughter’s friends, reminding them to wear their rubber bands for their braces and organizing a carpool.
Her love and caring attitude also extended to everyone she met. Jenn cared for her mother-in-law who had dementia and her mother as she experienced Alzheimer’s. Both incredible women passed approximately two years ago.
It was the overwhelming stress and lack of sleep that Jenn says led her to have a drink of alcohol before going out to buy eggs one morning. While she was in this intoxicated state, Jenn rear-ended another car and was sentenced to probation and over 300 hours of community service.
After her first service placement did not work out, Jenn requested that she be reassigned. Her reassignment brought her to the doors of COTS in September of 2023. With over 25 years of kitchen and service experience, Jenn felt right at home volunteering at the Mary Isaak Center. Jenn volunteered multiple days a week and grew to have friendships with other volunteers and COTS staff.
As she finished her mandated hours in February of 2024, her new friends gifted her with a card and flowers, wishing her the best in her next chapter. But after a week off from volunteering, Jenn came back to COTS. “It’s actually helped me being here [at COTS].” While she had the company of her retired husband, she missed the kitchen’s comradery and being able to help those in her community who need support. Having spent time with the clients during her smoking break, she got to know them. “For the most part, a lot of them are really nice people that you know, for some reason or another, they wind up here . . . they’re just people who have had problems and they’re people just like you and they deserve to have decent food.”
Happy to get out of her house and felt that volunteering at COTS gave her “some sense of purpose because people appreciate what I’m doing.” Jenn has continued to volunteer with COTS regularly and is delighted to help new volunteers learn the ways of the kitchen.
As of May 28th, 2024, Jenn has remained 17 months sober and thanks COTS and sweets for helping her maintain her sobriety.