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Impact Stories
May 2025
As the months passed, Aubree managed to cobble together a few part-time jobs, juggling shifts at Staples and Subway by day and at a gas station at night. She started to see a therapist. But her depression just wouldn’t lift.
Then one November day, a Staples customer got nasty with Aubree, shouting – the customer cocked her head, poised to spit on her. Aubree broke down, utterly defeated. “I felt like a waste of space,” she says.
The therapy wasn’t helping. The drinking was out of control. The future looked bleak. She called her best friend, who worked in the Department of Social Services. “Call 2-1-1,” her friend suggested.
For three days, Aubree would dial 2-1-1, then hang up, overwhelmed. Her friend came over, called 2-1-1 on speakerphone, went into the next room and closed the door.
That day, Aubree took her first step toward healing: when a 211 Contact Specialist answered the call, Aubree shared her story.
You’re okay, Aubree remembers hearing. On the other end of the line was a caring, kind and reassuring person. “She let me know that I just needed to find help. And I’d taken the first step.”
The Contact Specialist understood that addressing Aubree’s addiction needed to be the top priority. Given how readily available alcohol was where she lived, she knew Aubree needed to change her environment, or no solution would be reached.
The Contact Specialist connected Aubree with support groups, a shelter for people struggling with addiction and a program to help her afford food – and provided locations, hours and phone numbers to make her way forward clear and accessible.
In the days that followed, Aubree moved back in with her mother and started working on her sobriety, turning to 211 almost daily for support, resources and information to help her identify her next steps.
As she found her footing, her confidence grew. She found employment at a bank, securing a steady income, expanding her skill sets and laying the foundation for career growth. She fell in love. She became a mother.
Five years later, she has completely turned her life around.
“211 pulled me out of a dark place,” Aubree states. “Each time I reached out, there was a patient person there to listen and figure out the next steps. They not only helped me – they helped me prepare a better world for my daughter to grow up in.”
Now, Aubree has a new job, where she “can give back and help people, just like I was helped” – she is now an Eligibility Services Specialist at United Way of Connecticut.
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