Healing Transitions 20th Anniversary Publication

OUR FOUNDERS
“ I think to see people go from living on the streets
to living normal life again, it’s very rewarding.”
Transitions 20 years ago would
never have happened without
the trio’s unique combination of
charm, perseverance, and grit.
While the three of them faced
some early challenges trying
to convince local leaders and
donors that this program was a
worthwhile investment for the
community, Evelyn still remembers
those early days fondly.
“I called Fred’s work with
Healing Transitions his ’healthy
obsession.’ And I’m so glad he
found it,” she recalled. “Saturday
nights were our date nights,
and we’d always start them with
his weekly meeting at Healing
Transitions. I’d go with him, and
then we’d go out to get a pancake
or something to eat together
downtown. That was always fun.”
Fast forward twenty years, and
she still sees the rewards of her
husband’s hard work almost daily.
“One of the most exciting and
rewarding things to me has
been encountering people in
jobs around town. People who
completed the program and
are now functioning in the ’real
world.’ That’s just so exciting.
And a lot of them are now giving
back to others. I love to see
people go from living on the
streets to living a normal life
again, it’s very rewarding. My
face lights up every time I think
of it. It’s so heartwarming.”
Evelyn smiled as she added, “I
consider myself a pretty riskaverse
person. But here we were,
Fred and me, Maria and Barbara,
starting something that some
people might say was risky. But
how could you go wrong with
helping others? I never thought
of it as risky at all.”
Evelyn Barber, Kat Thomas,
John T., and Fred Barber
THE FOUNDATIONAL YEARS [ 1997–2000 ]
14