The first Remarkable Woman nominee, Julie Becker, Director of the St. Francis House, has overseen an expansion, fundraising campaign and move into a new facility that allows the organization to serve even more people moving from “homelessness to hope.” If that isn’t remarkable, we don’t know what is.
This is the busiest season of Becker’s career. She’s moving into a brand new building, serving even more people as the director of the St. Francis house but she still greets all of her guests by name. “That’s kind of what my job is to show them that they have abilities. They are good people; they’ve maybe made some bad decisions or life circumstance have led them down the wrong path. I’m here to let them know that they’re valued and they’re appreciated. That’s why we call the people we serve at the St. Francis house guests because they are guests in our home,” Becker said.
A New Path in Life
Every day, Becker helps people looking for a new path in life. “About 97 percent of our guests right now have some form of addiction. It’s not an easy path; it’s not an easy job,” Becker said. “I am here making sure that they know they have a warm, safe and sober home to live in, where they get fed well and they probably get some tough love and compassion that they haven’t had in a long time,” Becker said. “This is not a hand out by any means; this is a hand up. They have to work for this. I’m not just going to give them a job. They need to work to get that job. I believe we walk alongside the people we serve,” Becker said.
She Taught Me A Lot
“My heart and what they did for me, that brought me back, and gave me a life, I’m so very grateful,” former guest Dan said. Dan now works for the St. Francis House after going through the program himself. “Now today, Dan has been sober for four years,” Becker said. A life forever changed thanks to this remarkable woman who continues to care. “Giving back, she’s taught me a lot about that so far,” Kaylee Anderson said. Anderson has worked for Becker at the St. Francis House for three years. “She’s just always giving a helping hand to not only me, guests, staff and other people in the community,” Anderson said. She nominated Julie for this special award. “I think she’s an excellent example of selflessness. Not only is she known for the St. Francis House, she gives through United Way. She aides people with disabilities and finding jobs,” Becker said.
Celebrating Even the Littlest Success
In addition to her work at the St. Francis House, Becker is constantly working to help people all over the region. “If we reduce the rent, so you guys can get ahead, get some debt paid off, and you guys get a nice little nest egg saved up,” Becker said. “Even the littlest success, it could be someone being sober for 10 days. That’s the longest they’ve ever been sober in their life; that’s a success,” Becker said
Remarkable Women Announcements
Earlier this year, Davenport Evans Law Firm partnered with Keloland Television to seek nominations for the Remarkable Women of KELOLAND Initiative. KELOLAND received dozens of incredible nominations and has selected four finalists to share more of their stories. They will announce one finalist per week on KELOLAND Living. Read their full stories here. The first finalist was announced February 12, 2020.
Remarkable Women of KELOLAND, presented by Davenport Evans Law Firm, is part of a nationwide Nexstar Media initiative to honor the influence that women have had on public policy, social progress and quality of life. You can learn about all four nominees in our Remarkable Women special which airs Tuesday, March 3rd at 6:30 PM, on KELOLAND Stations. The local winner will be announced March 6.
Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP, located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is one of the State’s largest law firms. The firm’s attorneys provide business and litigation counsel to individuals and corporate clients in a variety of practice areas. For more information about Davenport Evans, visit www.dehs.com.