Clemens Looks to Her Family Roots for Passionate Work at The Salvation Army
Having a grandfather who was a veteran prompted Stephanie Clemens to investigate an opportunity at The Salvation Army.
She saw a job posting last summer for a Community Support and VA Program Manager position that worked with veterans, and after interviewing and learning more, she was sold.
“I had been at Boys Town working in psychiatric residential treatment for 7 years but was ready for a change,” she said. “I didn’t know The Salvation Army had programs like this one, and it was a great fit for my passion.
“I was looking for an opportunity where I could grow in the role – do more and make more decisions. I wanted to make a bigger impact.”
Clemens said one of the biggest adjustments for her in this role was working with adults rather than youth, as she did at Boys Town.
Regardless of age, however, she said all the education and experience she’s acquired over time still applies.
Trauma impacts people no matter how old they are.
“I love to serve clients and manage people who work with our clients,” she said. “I love helping them grow and develop – both the clients and staff. It’s important that we grow to keep providing the best possible case management.”
In her role, Clemens manages 11 case managers and one housing specialist – and makes time to meet with clients as often as she can.
In fact, it’s working with the clients that keeps her motivated and in touch with what her staff needs as well as how people continue to be impacted by homelessness and mental health barriers and needs in the community.
“I’ve always been interested in the way the brain works, particularly how trauma impacts the brain,” said Clemens, who earned her B.S. in psychology from the University of Nebraska Omaha. “My passion really is for the people we work with. I enjoy the one-on-one.
“Human behavior is fascinating to me and always has been. It’s interesting to dissect why people do the things they do, the way they do them. Past experiences really affect us more than we realize, and we see first-hand how trauma is seen and endured in our clients.”
Growing up, Clemens’ father worked in foster care at Boys Town, so she would hear him talk about his work and how there was a high volume of chaos and intensity among the youth they served.
He always stressed that it was important to use the best available resources to stabilize them so they could help them – and that opened the door for her to see there weren’t a lot of resources in Nebraska for families in the foster care system.
Ultimately, that experience led her to that kind of work and ultimately the work she does today.
“I do miss working with kids, but with adults, there’s still that core need to stabilize and develop their coping skills,” she said. “There’s no doubt it can be deflating when things don’t go as you hope, but the success stories more than make up for that.
“Seeing someone move into their own apartment, enter into another less-intensive program, find employment and grow in their development is really fantastic. The human spirit is amazing. It makes everything worth it.”