Laura knew she needed to make a dramatic change — her daughter needed her to. She got clean, left an unhealthy relationship and found housing. But she still needed some help — after 10 years not working, it’s hard to find a good job — or even know where to start. She connected with Goodwill Northern New England’s Job Connection services and in the last year she’s become one of the program’s biggest success stories.

This week Laura Simmons, 30, of Portland, is starting her college education at Southern Maine Community College — and one day she hopes to get her master’s degree, maybe in special education.

Goodwill NNE is revolutionizing how to help lift people out of poverty and into personal stability. We believe jobs are crucial, but jobs alone aren’t usually enough. The Job Connection program gave Laura a team of five people who make sure that Laura has everything she needs by crushing any barriers that would threaten her personal stability.

For instance, Laura’s prior substance abuse issues left her teeth severely damaged. So much that it may have prevented her from finding work. Laura’s Job Connection team connected her to a dental program where she got dentures, giving her a beautiful smile.

Another time Laura couldn’t get to some of her appointments because the wiper blades on her car wore out and she didn’t have enough money to buy new ones. Goodwill bought her new wiper blades and a Job Connection team member asked Laura where her money was going. It turned out Laura’s young daughter has brittle bone disease — any fall on the playground could lead to a broken leg. At the time, Laura’s daughter broke a bone and was in a full-body cast. Laura was spending about $500 a month on diapers, leaving little money for anything else. Job Connection was able to get Laura a supply of free diapers for her daughter until her bone healed.

It’s nearly impossible for a mother to think about work or school if she’s worried about diapers, wiper blades and her own health. That’s why Goodwill NNE tries to tackle the little stuff and the big stuff for every single Job Connection client — all free of charge.

“They’re there for everything,” Laura said. “Even drama in my life, they’re there. It’s so personal. I feel so confident going back to school because they are in my corner.”

Although Goodwill’s Job Connection program typically does just that — connects people to jobs — Laura and her team decided higher education was a better fit for Laura for myriad reasons: She could be with her young daughter more, her rent would stay low, financial aid was able to pay for a lot of her education and her earnings will be higher in the long-run. Job Connection helped Laura fill out her FAFSA so she could get federal student financial aid, helped her apply to college and helped her study for her admission exams.

“This program goes down through every detail of your life. It’s not a work program — it’s a life program. It feels like a family,” Laura said. “They are the confidence builder I need and the support team that’s always there, they’re my place of resources. They’re beside me while I do the heavy lifting.”

Goodwill NNE is expanding this program to some extent to young criminal offenders in Maine and with a job center in the Cumberland County Jail. Goodwill NNE is also seeking grants and donors to help us expand these services into New Hampshire, Vermont and further reaches of Maine.

“I wouldn’t be here if I’d kept doing what I was doing. Life lesson learned. I would tell anyone in that situation to grab onto all the resources you can. This turned my life around. Job Connection is still turning my life around,” Laura said. “It’s nice to finally wake up with a smile.”