Shenell

Las Vegas, Nevada

Shenell Sowers, who goes by “Magik,” worked for a residential youth organization that serves children with autism, but could not take time to care for herself when her asthma became severe. She found herself in a cycle: The job stress would make her asthma act up. She’d take a sick day and worry about retaliation from her employer. Eventually her health worsened, causing a longer absence that cost her the job. “I let my health go because I was afraid to lose my job and, in the end, I lost my health and my job,” she said. “[Then] I made an agreement to myself that I would be the change I want to see in the world.”