Staff Spotlight: Sheila

Meet Sheila! While Sheila has been on our staff for over a year, it took her a minute to be able to share her story. You see, Sheila’s reasons for being employed at New Visions are deeply personal, and talking about the reasons behind her work brings up a lot of hard emotions. Many of our staff members have what we call “lived experiences” that make them particularly capable of serving and relating with individuals experiencing hunger and homelessness. While Sheila’s lived experience is deeply painful, her work with veterans over the past year has provided growth and healing that has enabled her to share her story.  

As a US Marine, Sheila comes from a family legacy of veterans who have served in the Marine Corps, and she has a son and grandson who also served with the Marines. “For most of my life, I didn’t realize that my platform and passion would be homelessness and suicide awareness,” says Sheila, “but in 2023, my son, who was an Iraqi veteran, committed suicide because of his combat demons. While he was on life support, I promised him that I would help other veterans and their families so that others would not have to go through what we went through.”

Sheila grieved and struggled for over a year after her son’s death, but she eventually discovered a job opening at our New Visions Omaha campus for homeless veterans and thought she might give it a try as a way to live out her promise to her son of helping other veterans. Sheila soon found that in helping other veterans find healing, she was finding healing herself. Sheila’s position initially involved case management with 13 veterans, but her passion quickly led to a leadership role overseeing our David House Permanent Supportive Housing unit, as well overseeing our Security Team in Omaha.

Sheila describes herself as loyal, abnormally honest, and goofy – all traits that have helped her to thrive in her many roles at New Visions.

In addition to her work with us, Sheila also speaks to groups about veteran homelessness and suicide prevention in honor of her son. One thing she’s passionate about is helping the families of veterans to have more information when veterans come under our care. “People don’t realize that when a veteran is homeless and their family doesn’t know where they are or whether they are safe, it causes an extreme level of mental health for that family. When veterans find their way to New Visions, when they are finally safe and having their basic needs met and also receiving help with their mental health, addictions, housing, and employment, it’s not only helping that veteran, but it is also helping their family to finally be able to breathe, to be able to sleep at night, because they finally know that their son or daughter, their husband, or their grandson is safe.”   

While Sheila spends most of her time on her life’s passion of helping veterans, she spends her free time with her horse and swimming. But when reflecting on what she’s most proud of in life, Sheila doesn’t hesitate to say that she’s most proud of raising heroes. “My children are all heroes,” she says. “In addition to being a combat veteran, my son donated his organs and saved many lives. I have a daughter who is an ICU nurse at the VA, and another daughter who is a Deputy Sheriff. They have all devoted their lives to helping others, they are heroes, and I’m proud to have raised them to be the people they are today.” And here at New Visions, we are proud to have Sheila on our staff helping more heroes and their families to find their way back to stability and safety after experiencing homelessness, pain, and loss. To Sheila and her children along with the other heroes we serve, we thank you for your service to our country and to humankind.