Ben

Toward the end of high school and into his early 20’s, Ben had a problem with drug use and that led to crimes and a downward spiral of being in and out of jail.  He was struggling to find steady work in the small city of Cordele, GA where he lived.  He also had a young child and couldn’t pay child support.

Ben was introduced to Leeann Crosson and began to get his life back on track. Mrs. Crosson is a Problem Solving Court Coordinator with the Southwestern Judicial Circuit that helps individuals become productive citizens and pay their child support. Not long after meeting Ben, Mrs. Crosson referred him to Paxen, a program of Eckerd, in hopes that he would earn his GED® and gain meaningful employment.

Ben started the program in November; he was present and punctual during the scheduled class times. He knew that this would be a difficult challenge given that he had been out of school for sixteen years. He was very persistent in his pursuit of his GED®, studying almost every day for hours at a time. Ben achieved his GED® in April, four months after starting with Paxen, and received his first job offer a week later. Ben is now working at a local business, earning a living and being a productive citizen of the community.