How one amazing social worker helps local veterans + their families find housing

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Growing up in Talladega County, Lexus Williams dreamed of becoming making a difference. For 4.5 months now, the 2020 social work grad has been working at Priority Veteran, right here in Birmingham. We talked to her to find out what she loves about her work—keep reading for all the details.

Meet Lexus Williams, Case Manager at Priority Veteran

In 2015, Williams moved to Birmingham to study at Miles College. In 2020, she graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and took a job at DHR (Department of Human Resources), where she worked in foster care for 11 months. 

Her family of five includes her son, her partner and two dogs: Miss Charlie Ray, a Maltipoo, and Miss Coco, a Yorkie. In her spare time, she loves learning, reading and traveling. Of course, she also enjoys doing things with her son, who, like his mom, is super into sports.

Four and a half months ago, she began working as a Case Manager at Priority Veteran, a program of United Way of Central Alabama (UWCA) and hasn’t looked back.

Helping veterans is rewarding for Lexus

Hands down, Williams’ favorite part of her new job is working with clients. While they come from a range of backgrounds and ages, all have one thing in common—they are veterans in need of assistance with housing.

That’s where caseworkers come in; they help veterans find housing or help prevent them from being evicted. 

Williams’ day-to-day work primarily involves direct client interactions, helping veterans locate permanent housing and helping to connect them with resources to help maintain financial stability, legal services or United Way of Central Alabama’s 211 line. 

In addition, she often refers clients to HUD-VASH, which stands for Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing. This U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development program provides rental assistance to homeless veterans.

Priority Veteran is a relaxed, supportive place to work

While Priority Veteran provides an essential service to the community, Williams appreciates that both the pace and the caseload are manageable.

The nonprofit is a place where everybody knows each other, and there are lots of festivities and plenty of food that bring employees together. Williams finds her coworkers friendly and family-oriented. She appreciates how clean and new the offices are, as well.

As a recent college graduate and a working mom, Williams is grateful for benefits the organization provides, such as tuition and mileage reimbursement.

“The benefits alone are great for anyone who’s coming out of college, and you get great experience working with the community while building your resume. It’s a rewarding job—you never wake up in the morning and think ‘oh, I have to go to work again.'”

In addition, UWCA employees may also qualify for student loan forgiveness.

The federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program forgives the balance of certain student loans for people who work for nonprofit organizations for 10 years.

Even if they do not work at UWCA for the full 10 years, their time at UWCA will count towards the program requirements if they go on to work at another nonprofit or for a government organization.

Making a difference in real people’s lives

Williams didn’t hesitate when I asked her to tell me a story that showed the impact she’s able to make on her clients’ lives:

“I have a client who took in his grandchild—even though he himself didn’t have housing, he wanted to make sure his grandchild was in a better situation. I got the case, and now he’s moving into a home; he was able to get a job and work. Knowing that we can assist in helping someone move along to a better situation—that sparks the joy in my life.”

Work for an organization that makes a difference every day. Apply for a job at UWCA today.

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