Rooted in Empathy
Employee Spotlight: Tayna Allums
When Tanya Allums moved from California to Georgia in 2017, she didn’t expect to spend her first six months without stable housing.
“I wasn’t drinking, I wasn’t on drugs, I wasn’t making bad decisions,” she said. “I just moved across the country and couldn’t find a job. I was staying in hotels and motels. I’m grateful for Motel 6 because I spent a lot of nights there.”
That experience shaped how Tanya approaches her work as a Care Coordinator with CaringWorks.
“It could be anybody, and it’s so important to have compassion for people, even if you’re not able to do anything about their situation” she said. “You may think someone experiencing homelessness is different from you, but they’re really not that different.”
Tanya’s career path was shaped early on by her mother, who also worked in case management.
“My mom did the same type of work, so it just kind of was always there—in the blood, so to speak.”
Inspired by watching her mother help others, Tanya began working in social services in 2008. Over the years, she’s supported children and adults with mental health challenges, worked in group homes, and spent time in crisis response and transitional programs. Now in her role at CaringWorks, she helps clients manage the routines and responsibilities of daily life, connecting them to resources, empowering them to address everyday challenges, helping them set and meet goals, and serving as a bridge between them and apartment management.
“A lot of them have not had to navigate having a place of their own before; they’ve never had to maintain an apartment unit, sign a lease, or deal with a landlord.”
Her passion for the work is clear when she talks about what motivates her.
“The best part of my job is when clients have that light bulb moment—when something finally clicks,” she said. “Maybe it’s learning how to communicate instead of getting angry or repairing a relationship with a family member.”
For Tanya, those moments are rooted in empathy—the ability to truly see and respect her clients as individuals.
“You can’t do this work if you don’t see people as people,” she said. “You have to meet them where they are, without judgment. Everybody’s story is different, and you have to listen to understand it.”
Even with the emotional weight the job brings, Tanya says she’s found a special community at CaringWorks.
“This is probably the happiest, healthiest working environment I’ve ever been in,” she shared. “The people here truly believe in the mission. They embody it.”
November 2025