Julie Murphy Doss Success Archive

Julie Murphy Doss- North Carolina 

Julie’s story is one about challenges, determination and personal growth.

A journey with great accomplishments, but also hard times.

Julie’s childhood wasn’t easy and she was in the foster care system.  This often created great stress, fears, and bad environments.  She had trouble coping at times.

In her 20′s, Julie found her way to healthier environments and started to learn new coping methods and focused on how to better herself.  She was grateful for her SSDI benefits, but knew, she didn’t want to depend on them the rest of her life.   She wanted to provide for herself and start living again.

Julie received a pamphlet from Social Security about the Ticket to Work program which led her to Employment Options.   Julie has worked closely with her assigned Community Vocational Consultant, Ray Morrison, for 3 years.  Ray coached her one-on-one and helped her locate employment while attending college and also explained the program.

Julie has used the Ticket to Work program to the fullest to advance her education and find fulfilling work.  She is now completely self sufficient and no longer needs to receive disability benefits.

Julie is one of our star clients!   She has never let her challenges stop her and is a true Ticket to Work success story.  She always takes the advice given to her and keeps moving forward.  Congratulations Julie!  We are very proud of your hard work and continue to be inspired by your story!    Thank you for sharing!

Below you will find Julie’s personally written story.

“For me, my story continues as a journey………. a journey to become the best woman and friend and wife that I can be….

I’ll have to go back into history a bit to magnify just how far I have come.

As a child I grew up in the system. I was a foster child and to honestly describe myself, I was very self-destructive. I held onto the pain that brought me into states custody, and did not know how to deal with it.  An accumulation of bad decisions on my part, led me to make one of the best and worst decisions when I was 16. I got married. I went from the frying pan, into the fire.  

Needless to say, it was not a good marriage and lots of bad things happened along with some good. I was a childhood survivor of abuse and stepped into an adult world full of more abuse. My first 20 something years of life had its toll on my outlook and coping skills. I thought nothing of making a career, just mainly trying to survive.

Finally, I got away from the bad and started working on ‘me.’  Through therapy and mainly trial and error, I had to learn how to be myself again. This also meant trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I did not want to live off of disability for the rest of my life, and to be honest, it really was not living, it was just surviving…..

I heard about the Ticket to Work program through one of the pamphlets that Social Security sends out. I called and they sent me a whole list of prospective agencies. Most of them were not in my area, and I talked to about 20 different people before I found Employment Options.

I decided to go with them and was set up with my counselor, Ray Morrison. I have been working with Ray now for 3 years.  He helped me get back into the work force, for one, by helping me locate job openings that were within my job set and use skills that I already had.  I started out part-time as a server at Cracker Barrel.

While working there, I also went back to college.  I knew that in today’s world, it was going to take a lot more education than my GED, if I truly wanted to succeed in today’s job market.  Going to school and working part time allowed me to see what I wanted to do with my future.  It gave me more options.  I completed a State program for Certified Nursing Assistants and have also completed all of the pre-requisites for the Advanced Degree in Nursing program.  All that is left for me to do is become accepted into a Nursing Program!

I am currently a Relief Supervisor Med Tech/Certified Nursing Assistant with goals of one day becoming a hospice nurse. The road continues to be bumpy, but I strive to do my best each and every day.  Never letting my disability to hold me back anymore…. Success is measured differently, everywhere.  I had to take baby steps to get where I am.  Success can be attained, if only you persevere through the hardest of times, and celebrate the good, no matter how small the good may be.” (Julie Murphy Doss)