HFLA Podcast: From Strength to Strength: A Glimpse Into What Defines Resilience

Season 4  |  Episode 10  |  May 23, 2024

by Kerry Morrison, host of Heart Forward: Conversations from the Heart podcast

Meet Georgette Darby in this interview. She is one remarkable woman who has endured so much and has emerged strong and resilient. Georgette has a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration with an emphasis in Criminal Justice from California State University at Dominguez Hills. She graduated in 1996. She also has an AA degree in Science, Computer Information Technology from Los Angeles Trade Tech College. She was awarded that degree in 1988. These are accomplishments that she doggedly pursued and was the first person in her family to earn a college degree.

Georgette worked as a junior legal secretary in the law firm Manatt Phelps and Phillips for nearly 10 years. In the fall of 2008, as the world began to reel from the downward slide associated with the financial crisis that sparked the Great Recession, the law firm laid off all staff who did not have at least 10 years tenure. Georgette was just a few months shy of that.

According to this January 2009 article in the New York Times, the United States lost 2.6 million jobs in 2008, the worst year since 1945. By early 2009, more than 11 million Americans were unemployed and the unemployment rate jumped to 7.2 percent.

This was the world that Georgette had to navigate all by herself. As she says, her sorority is “Me Fi Me.”  She is a survivor.  

Georgette is currently extremely involved in her community, serving on the Board of the Hollywood United Neighborhood Council and as an ambassador member of the new clubhouse in Hollywood which is being created as a part of the Hollywood 2.0 mental health pilot.

Georgette is the personification of the word tenacious. Her lived experience falling into homelessness and navigating our county mental health system is not to be overlooked. She does not give up easily and is a wonderful mentor for anyone who thinks their life is hard. Listen to this interview and see if you could’ve walked a mile in Georgette’s shoes and ended up here!

CLICK HERE to listen to the interview.