Positive, supportive relationships produce the trust necessary to discuss difficult issues facing people experiencing homelessness and needing reliable work. The barriers to steady employment can be daunting and create a feeling of hopelessness. So, the basis of the Job Readiness Program is to first build relationships. From the comfort of mutual friendship, the mentor and participant can problem-solve, tackle barriers, and reach goals. Together, the path to employment and a more productive life can be forged. Lives can be mutually transformed.

Once paired with a program participant, a volunteer mentor meets weekly with his/her partner. Meeting times, days and locations are totally up to each pair: the coffee shop, library or somewhere in between. Time shared weekly is the important link to addressing obstacles and creating a plan for a return to the workforce. As needed, mentors help program participants pursue community resources for their health and well-being. The time commitment is 1 - 3 hours a week for twelve months. The personal benefits are priceless and last forever.

Mentor training offers a chance for mentors to get to know one another at the start of a new program cycle. Past volunteers and program staff will discuss how to build effective personal relationships with people experiencing homelessness. An initial three hour training provides new mentors with valuable information and r esources that will empower them to provide assistance and guidance to their program partners.

Hopeful Program Participants

In the fall, The Hope Center staff and lead volunteers select 10 people to participate in the Job Readiness program. Previously, participants have come from Pullen Memorial Baptist Church outreach, the South Wilmington Street Shelter and the Raleigh Rescue Mission.

The men and women in the Job Readiness Program are homeless or marginally-housed. They are either unemployed or work occasional day labor. Ranging between 18 and 60 years old, participants have minimal or no income and are often disconnected from a family support structure.

If a participant has a substance abuse or mental health history, he or she may participate in the program as long as those potential obstacles to employment are assessed, addressed and determined not to be an absolute barrier to employment.

Volunteers Remove Barriers

Evidence from similar employment programs - including the "Chronically Homeless Employment Initiative Pilot Project" of the Triangle United Way and the South Wilmington Street Center - indicate that assessing individual obstacles to employment and accessing community resources to address needs can be effective in getting some chronically homeless persons into employment and keeping them there.

If you have a passion for this social issue and are willing to dedicate your time and energy to help change a person's circumstances, contact the program manager.

• Read about the Job Readiness mentor role
• Watch the video from Ricky, a Job Readiness program participant
• Download and complete the volunteer application