The Connector
- Resilience: Unstoppable
- Empathy: Deep as It Gets
- Spirit: Contagious
Elliott S.
Superpower: Connecting with Others
“Go out there and pursue your dreams, face your fears, and accomplish your goals. If I can do it, you can do it. I believe in you.”
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Elliott's Story
For years, Elliott had a reason not to try.
He’s blind. And the way he saw it, if something is hard for someone with full vision, it’s twice as hard for someone without it. So why should he have to work twice as hard? He didn’t. He sat down, waited, and let the years pass.
“I was in my mid-30s with nothing,” he says. “I had my family… but that was it.”
Then something shifted. Elliott realized nothing was going to change unless he got up and made it change. He was afraid to get a job. Afraid to live his life. But he started advocating for himself, asking questions, asking for help, facing one fear at a time.
That’s when he found CAA.
“Within one month of being here, I had a resume and I had an interview. I was already making more progress than I’d made in six months with another organization.”
— Elliott S., Tri-Cities Superhero
His first interview, he was terrified. CAA was right there beside him. He walked out the other side and felt a hundred pounds lift off his shoulders.
“That wasn’t so bad,” he thought.
Today, Elliott is employed. He’s engaged to be married, with a nine-year-old daughter he helps support. He shows up at the CAA Community Center every day, the self-proclaimed Uno champion, dancing with people who didn’t want to dance, joking with people who needed to laugh, and reminding anyone who’ll listen that the help is out there if you ask for it.
“It doesn’t matter as long as I’m making a difference in someone else’s.”
— Elliott, on singing badly and dancing anyway
Elliott’s superpower is connection. He keeps his ears open, puts himself in other people’s shoes, and opens up about his own story so others can see themselves in it. He has lived through the hard parts and come out the other side, and he will walk that road with you too.
Quick Facts
- Superpower: Connecting with Others
- Milestone: First resume and job interview within one month of joining CAA
- Known for: Reigning Uno champion of the Community Center
- Family: Engaged, proud supporter of his nine-year-old daughter
Know someone like Elliott?
Every person has a superpower. Some just haven’t been asked about theirs yet. You can change that.