“In The Best Place Of Her Life”
Mahalah Webb was working as a cook in Salem, making fourteen dollars an hour, a single mother of three, doing her best to make a better life. Constructing Hope represented a new beginning, and after taking a leap of faith to join the program, Webb says she’s “in the best place of her life.”
Webb had been clean for two years before she started with Constructing Hope, and said some tenets of recovery had inspired her to keep pushing forward towards new possibilities. “It’s about stepping into things that scare me. I rarely went to Portland, but I knew I had to go. I was terrified of heights, now I drive a boom lift.”
“I didn’t know what a saw was in the beginning, and all the nails I’d hammer were crooked. But it’s all about practice, practice, practice and changing your mindset. The process taught me how to get inspired and start again after I was overwhelmed, taking a break and returning later to get back into it.”
Webb says that many of the graduates from Constructing Hope’s Spring 2021 cohort have kept in touch, and have gone on into a variety of different trades. Webb is currently working on The Marylhurst Commons construction project in Lake Oswego.
“Lots of women doubt their ability to do jobs like this,” She said. “I talk to my friends and they say things like ‘You’re so brave, I wish I could do that.’ I tell them you can do that, if you want something bad enough, no matter what it is, you can work and get it.”
