Jackson Free Press

Melissa Adkinson, 36, originally from Cleveland, Ohio, relates easily to the majority of clients she helps. She works as a case manager at the Good Samaritan Center, a non-profit organization. She has lived in Jackson for the past two and half years.

Adkinson graduated from Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio, with a double major in sociology and psychology. She holds a minor in criminology.

"When I was little, I always had a strong desire to help people, and I didn't know if I wanted to do counseling or social work, so I majored in both," she says.

Her parents were deeply involved in the Catholic Church and instilled in her values of charity and helping other people.

During college, she was involved in the Big Brother and Big Sisters, the Circle K Program and Habitat for Humanity, and she was an intern for an HIV/AIDS recovery center.

After graduating college, Adkinson went to work for the HIV/AIDS recovery center. At 27, she moved to Connecticut, and this time it was Adkinson who needed help from others.

"I had to go to soup kitchens because I didn't have a job at the time and no income, so I had to go try to find food," she says. "It was difficult being a single woman out there in the real world."

Once, she went to get food from a church that was in a gang area. Over the phone, a priest told her to come through the back door, because if the gang saw her going in and out of the front door, they'd mug her to take the food. She parked her car at the back door, ran up, grabbed the food and ran back to her car.

"That is one of the scariest situations I'd ever been in," Adkinson says. "That's why I think Good Samaritan is such a good place. People can come into the place and be safe and assisted with food."

She explains that this situation helps her to understand the women who come to her for help. Adkinson likes to inspire them with courage and the hope that they can and will move beyond their troubles.

To her, fulfillment comes through helping clients who have low incomes, are homeless or face emergency situations, helping them procure food and clothing, furniture, as well as assistance with rent and utility bills.

Adkinson says that her co-workers at Good Samaritan are like a second family. "We all have a close bond, and I think that is what helps us to help others," she explains.