“It helped boost my self esteem because I lost my job, I lost everything and I was about to lose my apartment because I had no way to pay for it,” she said about her contact with the agency.
Goins turned to JFS for temporary cash assistance and as a part of that program was required to go through an 86-hour a month work program while she looked for a permanent work situation. Community Behavioral Health put her in the “Dress for Success” program, which provided her with an interview suit, and she also took advantage of the mock interview program.
She got a job in January helping people with developmental disabilities be more independent. She said the programs were a godsend for her and her three children.
“Coming from that time when I was feeling so down on myself, it feels really good just to have a purpose, to have something to do and making a living for my children, and providing for them,” Goins said. “It feels really good.”
JFS Executive Director Jerome Kearns said many of the people who come knocking on his doors do not have support systems to help them knock down barriers to employment, and the Community Behavioral Health component fills that gap.
“A lot of the folks who come to us might have substance abuse problems, health issues, daycare, transportation, single parent raising their children and the hurdles associated with that,” he said. “Looking at the compliance requirements they have for the benefits that are issued through our agency, it really takes someone to work with them to help them reduce those barriers.”
Community Behavioral Health is a non-profit organization that helps people deal with employment problems and drug, alcohol and mental health issues. They helped 750 people through their employment services last year and had a 55 percent placement and 35 percent retention rate.
Christy Morris, director of Case Management and Employment Services at the agency, distinguished her agency from OhioMeansJobs (formerly Workforce One) by saying OhioMeansJobs provides the tools, such as computers, fax machines, and facilitation with getting a GED to people who can job search on their own. Morris said her people keep tabs on everything the job seeker is doing from preparing them for interviews to following up on how the interview went to making sure the person stays employed.
“They are kind of a one-stop-shop for job seekers,” Morris said. “The difference is we really work very closely hands-on. When somebody comes into our office, we really focus on their barrier issues… We sit down with them week after week until we find them employment. We do a lot of really hands-on with the very difficult to employ.”
Sean Leary, the supervisor of employment services, said the jobs people are getting span from fast food to banks. Since they often see clients who have felony records, they also have developed relationships with local employers who have agreed to take a chance on otherwise unemployable people.
“It really just depends on how closely you can work with the employer to look past some of the barriers the client might have, to try to give them a chance,” Leary said. “A lot of our population are hard to hire, so our employment support specialists will work on the clients behalf, working with the employers to try and get a foot in the door for them.”
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