Two years ago, Stephanie Loy’s life looked radically different. Today, she’s a medical assistant at Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver thanks to a workforce development program and collaboration between a Denver nonprofit and Intermountain Health.

“I always wanted to be in healthcare, but after I graduated high school, I was told I couldn’t go to college because I didn’t have the money,” Stephanie says. She worked two security jobs in downtown Denver; it wasn’t enough to pay her bills, nor did it give her purpose.

“I wanted something better,” she says.

Stephanie heard about a nonprofit organization in Denver called CrossPurpose. Through personal and professional development, the program aims to eliminate relational, economic, and spiritual poverty.

"We approach our work holistically because while poverty shows its effects financially, the solution is often relational and spiritual," says Jason Janz, CrossPurpose CEO. "While money can help someone escape financial poverty, holistic transformation builds a life of flourishing."

The collaboration with CrossPurpose launched years ago out of research where Intermountain’s (then SCL Health) Community Health team identified economic stability as a core need, especially in the nine neighborhoods just north of Saint Joseph Hospital.

“Access to good health really is rooted in economics. Barriers to accessing quality education and training affect multiple generations in families who don't know anything different,” says Chuck Ault, Community Health manager. “This is really where heart disease, diabetes, and food insecurity come from.”

Individuals in the program spend the first few months in deep self-discovery, receiving counseling and often therapy to be ready for the education and training coming. The participants, called leaders, get a stipend so they can focus on their growth and development.

When Stephanie entered the program, she had just found an apartment. She’d been living in her car for a few months when she entered the program. Leaders who enter the program have an average wage of $8,000 a year.

“It was such a huge impact for me,” Stephanie says. “It really changed everything.”

CrossPurpose has several career tracks—administrative, sales, culinary, transportation, trades, and healthcare. Stephanie didn’t have to think about which interested her. She pursued the medical assistant track and was hired within a short time following her externship at Saint Joseph’s. Stephanie is one of 12 CrossPurpose alumni hired by Intermountain.

“I just love it,” Stephanie says. “I love patient care and I love being able to help people and to serve God this way.”

Chuck explains that the long-term plan is to continue to develop these caregivers, offering further career growth. Stephanie already knows she wants further opportunities. She loves her current role in the Cancer Center and is considering a future in nursing or as a radiology technologist.

“I believe if you want to make a change in your life, if you want to make it better, CrossPurpose is such a great place to start,” Stephanie says.