Calvin Brown

So often, the things we take for granted are also most important to our success and well-being. A quick run to the market, a drive to a doctor’s appointment, a trip to a job interview; how difficult these simple tasks become if we can’t drive.

Graduates of the Crisis Ministry’s License to Succeed program will attest to this, having seen how the acquisition of a driver’s license can make a tough situation so much more manageable.

Calvin Brown had been working for the New Jersey State Parole Board for ten years, and was eager to move forward in his career. A promotion, an increase in salary – these things were nearly within his grasp.

But something stood in his way.

Calvin could not advance, because the next promotion required that he drive. Having lost his license 27 years earlier, Calvin had lost the motivation to do anything about it.

Then a friend stepped in.

Having been through the License to Succeed program himself, this friend knew just where Calvin could turn for help. And the story of Calvin Brown took a turn for the better.

As soon as he entered the program, Calvin felt inspired and motivated again, and knew he could change his life.

Working with the Crisis Ministry’s Dara Lewis was “wonderful,” Calvin says. “Dara made it so easy and helped me through the process,” offering valuable guidance with the paperwork and logistics. Determined, he studied for the written test on line, and earned a high score. All that was left was to obtain his permit, and then earn his license — which he did.

Now, with the license that qualified him for his promotion and the use of a company car, the world has opened up in many ways.
“I feel very independent now,” Calvin says. Since going through License to Succeed, he can better care for his family in a way that is very important to him.

Though his own children are grown, Calvin is raising a nephew with special needs. “I have custody of my autistic nephew,” he says, “and having a license has made it easier for me to get him to his doctors’ appointments.”

Who can’t relate to the importance of this type of independence?

Calvin is thankful for the program and the people who have helped him along the way: “If not for the Crisis Ministry, I wouldn’t have a license today.”

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