Hope Allen is both remarkable and ordinary. Her story is certainly remarkable, yet it’s also similar to that of many other Georgians who were affected by the Great Recession.

This podcast is a little different in that this was actually an on-camera interview.  I was not intending to create a podcast from our discussion, but I found everything Hope said was so powerful and it resonated with me that while reviewing the footage I knew I had to post the entire conversation. In our conversation she talks about how she almost lost everything, her marriage, her house, her health… even her life, but how she battled back and found her true calling.

For some background, Hope was laid off from a job she loved in 2007 at the age of 49. Before getting laid off she and her husband also opened a high-end guitar retail shop. Then the Great Recession took hold, and you can guess what happened next.

What you probably can’t guess is how Hope would turn to a profession she had no experience with thanks in large part to the help of two women at the Georgia Department of Labor and a few programs designed to help people just like her rebound into new careers. Her journey as a nursing student lasted a decade and dealt with many twists and turns, but her story is one of perseverance, hard work, and yes, help from the government.

I hope you enjoy Hope’s story as much as I did, so with that, here’s Hope Allen.