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Job seekers find ‘Pathways’ to new career

Carman Smith, Jacqueline Evans, and Lisa Ingram participate in the Pathways to Independence program, at the Hamilton YWCA, Wednesday, February 01, 2012. Unemployed and underemployed residents can get help moving into self-sufficiency through a variety of offerings including soft skill and job skills improvement, educational assessment and assistance, financial literacy, help meeting basic needs, computer skills training, and individualized career counseling.

Staff photo by Greg Lynch Carman Smith, Jacqueline Evans, and Lisa Ingram participate in the Pathways to Independence program, at the Hamilton YWCA, Wednesday, February 01, 2012. Unemployed and underemployed residents can get help moving into self-sufficiency through a variety of offerings including soft skill and job skills improvement, educational assessment and assistance, financial literacy, help meeting basic needs, computer skills training, and individualized career counseling.

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By Richard O Jones, Staff Writer 8:16 PM Friday, February 3, 2012

HAMILTON — Hamilton resident Marie Dawson worked in the same manufacturing job for 15 years.

“When I got that job, you could basically go door-to-door looking for work,” she said.

Although her job required some data input, she never developed any meaningful computer skills, so when her job was out-sourced to another country, learning how to find a new job was almost like trying to learn a new language.

“Knowing how to even get onto a computer to look for work, I had no idea,” she said.

While she was seeking help to navigate those strange waters, she encountered a brochure for Pathways to Independence, a collaborative effort of the Butler County United Way with services provided by YWCA Hamilton and Community Behavioral Health to serve unemployed and underemployed residents and help them move into self-sufficiency, according to Kitti Hykes Anderson of the YWCA.

Pathways to Independence, she said, has been running since July, the latest evolution of the YWCA’s long-standing adult literacy programming, which she has been working with for over seven years.

“Even the literacy program would lead into people getting help with a job search as they improve their reading skills they learn there may be a better job they could be going for,” she said.

Benita Quinn, who operates the YWCA center with Anderson, said “Many of the people who come to see us have never had to ask for help finding a job, but the job search has changed so much. We trek through the process alongside them, and celebrate the beginning of new chapters.”

Services are offered in both downtown Hamilton at the YWCA and in Fairfield at Workforce One. Anderson has found that the participants create their own support group.

“The camaraderie between the job seekers is inspiring,” Anderson said. “They keep each other motivated and they know that the staff is cheering for them throughout the process.”

Anyone can walk in for help during job search sessions offered at the YWCA, 244 Dayton St., Hamilton, Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon. Additional time for job search help is offered on Mondays from noon to 3 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. Job seekers can also receive help by appointment at Workforce One, on Route 4 in Fairfield.

More information on the Pathways to Independence initiative is available online at bc-unitedway.org/Pathways.php or call the YWCA Hamilton at 513-856-9800.

While Dawson hasn’t found a job, she said she at least knows how to go about it in this new high-tech world.

“I wouldn’t know what to do if it hadn’t been for this place,” Dawson said.

Contact this reporter  at (513) 820-2188 or rjones@coxohio.com.

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