ASF

AS AN INTERN AT A STEP FORWARD Jane McAlily is growing

“As a young child growing up here, I remember it being a flourishing, densely populated area that was so much fun and where close-knit families could walk to the park and enjoy playing there,” McAlily said. “Nowadays, it’s kind of like a scary ghost town. Working here as an intern has made me always want to stay in the community and help enhance it. I’d like to see the area get back to the way it was. Over just two semesters here, I’ve seen so many people get sober and make remarkable transformations without a relapse. ASF is truly a shining light on the corner of Fulton Ave and Lanvale Street and I’m proud to be a part of it.” McAlily, who also worked with students with special needs in the Baltimore City Public School System from 2014 until 2020, is convinced that many adolescents have been gravely impacted by their parents’ addiction to drugs and alcohol.Thus, she is a big proponent of children’s mental health services. “I have a lot of goals that I still want to achieve,” McAlily said. “In fact, one day, I’d like to open a facility here in Baltimore that is designed to help people, particularly kids, who are hurt by substance abuse and mental health issues. If I do, I’d like to run my facility as Dr. Campbell runs hers. For example, when the pandemic first hit, she made it clear that she wasn’t going to lay off anyone and she hasn’t. I find that so inspiring and it’s how I like to think I’d handle such a situation.” As a highly educated, married mother of three with ample professional skills, Jane McAlily is already an inspirational figure and she can likely handle any situation. “Coppin State University gave me a list of places where I could intern at,” McAlily, who also serves a few times a year as an ordained minister with an African Methodist Episcopal Church on Madison Avenue, said. “A Step Forward was one of the places on the list and I was recommended there by a woman in the psychology department named Cheryl Gross. After I interviewed with its founder, Dr. Lela Campbell, I made up my mind on the spot that I wanted to do my internship at ASF because I felt I could really learn there. Dr. Campbell made it clear that I wasn’t going to be filing paperwork or doing other menial tasks. She told me that I’d be deep in the trenches with everyone else and I have been since I started there in January 2020.” Interning at ASF has been ideal for McAlily because she’s always “had a heart for the people who are looked at as unlovable.” ASF is also ideal for McAlily because it’s near her home and she believes that the facility’s mere presence can encourage locals to get better and eventually help resurrect the Harlem Park neighborhood of West Baltimore. An Ideal Fit A Plan to Help the Community

As a highly educated, married mother of three with ample professional skills, Jane McAlily is not a typical intern. Born and raised in Charm City, McAlily and her family ultimately relocated to Baltimore County, Maryland, where she graduated from Parkville High School. After graduating, she briefly attended the Community College of Baltimore County, Essex (CCBC) before securing a job in accounting. McAlily remained in this role for 21 years until 2011 when her boss determined that he could no longer afford to pay her salary. At a career crossroads, McAlily enrolled at Baltimore-based Coppin State University to study psychology. “I knew I had to attend Coppin State University because I realized I needed a new career,” McAlily said. “In May 2018, I graduated with a bachelor’s in applied psychology.This May, I’m going to graduate with a master’s in applied psychology with a focus on alcohol and substance abuse counseling. I’m proud to say that I’ve maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout my master’s career.” To satisfy a graduation requirement, McAlily is in the midst of doing an internship at A Step Forward, Inc. (ASF), a spiritually based, nonprofit organization in Baltimore that provides support services to individuals recovering from drug and alcohol abuse.

“I’ve seen so many people get sober and make remarkable transformations without a relapse.”

-Jane McAlily