(ALLENTOWN, PA) – From the challenges of foster care and homelessness to independence, Akiva Sequoyah is rebuilding his life through hard work, initiative, and help from the Allentown Rescue Mission and its community partners. Reflecting on his journey, Akiva embraces a guiding principle: change your fate with determination.
Akiva spent most of his childhood bouncing around the foster care system. Eventually, in his mid-teens, his grandmother adopted him, but he found adapting to life outside of the foster care system harder than he imagined.
Wrestling with the difficulties of his unstable childhood, Akiva struggled in most areas of his life. “Anger was my greatest hurdle,” Akiva admitted. He graduated from high school, but at seventeen, he was arrested and charged as an adult. After spending time in jail, he didn’t have anywhere to go, and that’s when he found the Allentown Rescue Mission.
Determined to build a stable foundation for his future, Akiva enrolled in the Mission’s Transformation
Program. There, he began working through personal challenges, turning his anger into drive. Akiva stated, “Through the Mission and my personal journey, I learned patience, self-control, and how to focus on what matters.”
Akiva also recognized that long-term success required specialized job skills. With the guidance of his Mission counselor, he discovered an opportunity through PA CareerLink Lehigh Valley to enroll in Lehigh Career & Technical Institute’s welding program. Akiva took the initiative to complete the CareerLink requirements and attend welding classes while simultaneously completing 120 class hours in the Transformation Program. Upon successful completion of the classes, his tuition and transportation were fully covered by PA CareerLink and the Allentown Rescue Mission’s scholarship program.
After graduating from the Allentown Rescue Mission’s Transformation Program, Akiva took a job with the Clean Team Workforce. He worked approximately 35 hours a week at a local auto salvage yard while finishing his welding classes.
In April, Akiva graduated and passed his welding certification. He began interviewing; however, landing a job proved challenging because of his incarceration. Recognizing the obstacle, the Clean Team Workforce manager contacted a local business executive who had been a Clean Team Workforce customer for over ten years.
Keith Ashner, Executive Vice President of L&M Fabrication and Machine, agreed to interview Akiva, and Akiva capitalized on the opportunity, interviewing and testing well. Hired initially as a trainee, Akiva’s hard work and rapid progress earned him a station promotion after just one week. He is currently welding components for a temporary shoring tower for the company’s Gold Star Memorial Bridge project. “He’s a well-mannered, terrific young person who is prompt and gets the job done,” shared Ashner.
Akiva maintained a positive attitude and perfect punctuality, even though circumstances weren’t ideal. Living at the Allentown Rescue Mission without a car, he spent $250/week on ride-shares to commute 20 minutes each way to work daily. Once L&M became aware of his situation, Ashner offered to help Akiva purchase a car.
Ashner coordinated with Joseph DiSaverio, owner of Executive Auto Gallery, to locate a reasonably priced, reliable car for a deserving young man. Moved by Akiva’s story, DiSaverio offered him a great deal on a car. And with the assistance of an interest-free loan, Akiva was able to purchase the car. “We try to run our company with the same philosophy as the Allentown Rescue Mission, people helping people,” Ashner emphasized.
Today, Akiva is driving himself to work, saving money, and budgeting to secure a place of his own to live. In his free time, he enjoys creating indie animation and working out at the gym.
Through strength and determination, Akiva has overcome immense hurdles to reshape his future. While he did the hard work, he couldn’t overlook the generosity of the community that came together to support him. He admits, “It’s shocking, and nice, for people to see my potential and support me.”
About PA CareerLink Lehigh Valley: PA CareerLink Lehigh Valley is an employment and training center chartered by Workforce Board Lehigh Valley and primarily funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. PA CareerLink® Lehigh Valley connects employers and job opportunities with qualified job seekers. Through their mission to implement a delivery system that serves the community as a clearinghouse, PA CareerLink® Lehigh Valley is a one-stop shop for information, employment opportunities, training, education, and economic development.
Their customer-focused system is based on both the current and future labor market needs throughout the Lehigh Valley.
About Lehigh Career & Technical Institute: LCTI is Pennsylvania’s largest career and technical school. Founded in 1971, LCTI today provides more than 45 skills-based programs of study and academic instruction for about 2,700 ninth- through 12th-grade students from Lehigh County’s nine public school districts. LCTI also offers industry-relevant training and credentials for adults working in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. The school’s state-of-the-art facilities encompass roughly 450,000 square feet on a 47-acre campus in the Schnecksville section of North Whitehall Township.
About L&M Fabrication & Machine: L & M Fabrication and Machine Inc. is a family-owned and operated business established in 1967, specializing in steel fabrication and machining solutions. Located in Bath, PA, with two facilities totaling 50,000 square feet on five acres, they serve various markets, including infrastructure, construction, and transportation.
About Executive Auto Gallery Inc: Located in Walnutport, PA, Executive Auto Gallery Inc. has brought top quality foreign and domestic vehicles at the best value to the customer for over 25 years. Their stock contains late model autos, suv’s, and pick-up trucks.
The Allentown Rescue Mission, a 501c3, 145 bed non-profit homeless shelter has been providing shelter
to men in crisis since 1900. In addition to emergency shelter services (365 days a year), the Allentown Rescue Mission offers a faith-based residential life skills program, and transitional employment on the Clean Team Workforce that’s available for hire to the community. The Clean Team Workforce pays the men above PA state minimum wage– helping them save a nest egg to transition back into the community. In a typical year, the Allentown Rescue Mission provides shelter services for nearly 1,000 men and serves more than 60,000 meals to men in need.
To refer someone to the Allentown Rescue Mission for services or to learn ways you can help make a difference please visit www.allentownrescuemission.org
Information provided to TVL by:
Stefanie Appel
