Showing posts with label social networks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social networks. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Less Mentioned Benefits Of Ohio City Power Workforce Development

 
Jessica Montgomery organizes a small job mailing project for a client.
Shown above: Jessica Montgomery, Friend to Ohio City Power, organizes a mailing project for an Ohio City Power small business client. Small job projects provide much needed cash income for workers who produce quality, quick turnaround work.

Ohio City Power's workforce development program is designed to help individuals shift  from a situation of homelessness or joblessness to securing employment. 

To support this transition, Ohio City Power seeks out and builds collaborations with large, growing regional companies such as Employment Connection, Cleveland Clinic, Judson Retirement and Towards Employment. 

Usually, the initial motivation for someone is for a paycheck and the idea of getting back into the workforce, but there are other benefits to consider too.

As it is approaching the time of the year when many companies increase hiring, the following are some of these benefits to consider:

A job can be considered as part of an individual's identity in this society
When people ask who someone is, the answer often includes where they work or what they do for a living. This is thought of as a big part of "who you are". 

For example, she is a "baker" or he is "a receptionist." Sometimes family is also considered when answering this, but a job can be a significant part of the “essence” of who someone is when describing them. 

Especially when losing a job, it's easy to feel a loss of more than just a job. It can feel like part of who you are is missing. This can lead to other problems that carry over into one's personal life.

Getting "out of self" can help a person's frame of mind
Businesses succeed by providing what potential consumers want. The focus is catering to others to be successful. To contribute to something in a workplace helps give purpose to life and meaning.

At St. Herman's House Of Hospitality, and at partner organization St. Paul's Community Church, there is a saying often shared: "There is dignity in all work." 

There is an another known belief that when you help other people with their problems, it helps you deal with your own problems. These could be personal issues at work or away from work.

You can begin to see you are not the only one with problems, or maybe you gain a perspective you had not thought of before.

Networking could also be included here
You might learn a skill you never knew you had or benefit from an opportunity that wouldn't have otherwise be available that could eventually inspire others.

If people see someone making an effort to improve themselves, it puts the thought into them to think about doing the same thing.

Human nature is to gossip, so why not have people talk about something constructive? It is human nature to follow when someone else leads, so you are not the only one.

"It takes a village," as the expression goes.

It can lead life to a different path in life
Some who enter Ohio City Power's program have had a setback in life. It could be financial disaster, time in jail, family problems or legal or debt problems. 

Getting back to work after a difficult time can help you grow your life in a different direction, and possibly even improve your situation.  

Someone could notice a skill set you have but were unaware of before and tell others, opening up potential income opportunities. In this competitive job market, especially, this is very powerful. Often, temporary positions can lead to permanent ones.

These are some of the many ways that getting a job can be more than just receiving a paycheck.

- Written by Albert Wagner, Operations Manager, Ohio City Power; Edited and Published by Betsey Merkel
  
Find, Friend or Follow Ohio City Power!

Copyright 2013 Ohio City Power. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Ohio City Power, Ohio City Power @ St. Paul's Community Church, 4427 Franklin Blvd., Cleveland, OH 44113. Phone: 1-440-289-1657 Web: www.ohiocitypower.net
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Location: 4427 Franklin Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44113, USA

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Jobs Pipeline Success Stories

Ohio City Power job candidate works with Don Hoke to prepare resume for online job application
Shown above: Don Hoke (right), Ohio City Power Jobs Coach assists Ohio City Power Friend Adrian Whitmore (left) with resume building and preparing for an employment interview process at St. Paul's Community Church & Outreach, 4427 Franklin Blvd. in Cleveland, Ohio. Photo: Image: Resume Discussion. © Alice Merkel.

Ohio City Power Jobs Pipeline Connects People To Jobs

Lisa Braun, Executive Director, Ohio City Power, builds active partnerships with large regional workforce development organizations. 

One such partnership connects Lisa Braun, Executive Director of Ohio City Power, Gayle Thompkins Agahi, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Talent Acquisition and Human Resources at the Cleveland Clinic and Stephanie Rychel, Business Services Assistant Manager at Employment Connection to form a team that helps the homeless and jobless in the neighborhoods of the City of Cleveland, Ohio gain employment.

Stephanie Rychel, Business Services Assistant Manager, Employment Connection; Lisa Braun, Exec. Dir., Ohio City Power; and Gayle Agahi, Director, Strategic Partnerships, Talent Acquisition and Human Resources, Cleveland Clinic.
Shown above: Stephanie Rychel, Business Services Assistant Manager, Employment Connection; Lisa Braun, Exec. Dir., Ohio City Power; and Gayle T. Agahi, Director, Strategic Partnerships, Talent Acquisition and Human Resources, Cleveland Clinic.
Image: Natural Light. © Alice Merkel.

It is because of this team's strong spirit of collaboration to share resources and skills, that Ohio City Power programs and services are able to successfully facilitate and support real connections between Cleveland's labor force and employment opportunities.

One Case Of Willingness And Initiative

A new member of the Ohio City Power workforce program, Tyrone Hennessee, began to take advantage of the collaboration with Employment Connection to get back on the path to employment! A path that can lead to a future position at the Cleveland Clinic. 

Tyrone describes his experiences beginning with Ohio City Power's Job Coaching Services led by Don Hoke, Member, Federated Church Elderlife, at St. Paul's Community Church on the city's near west side, to attending the Employment Connection Workshop in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. 

Tyrone offered to share the e-mail excerpts below detailing his journey in the Ohio City Power jobs "pipeline" - a pathway of action steps that support and affirm individual initiative to secure employment. 
"I met with Don on the 16 of November. We talked about my resume and completed the employment connection online work sheet. The next step required an introduction to the program. I met with staff to talk about the different services that Employment Connection has to offer. The only thing the staff wanted from the group, a resume and the online work sheet. I log on to find my resume, but could not remember the pass word. The staff ask for my name and found my resume." - Tyrone, from email
"The first day of class we discuss interview questions. The Employment Connection provided each member in the work shop class, with a book that contain different resume formats and mock interview questions." - Tyrone, from email
"Tuesday, the class was given a homework assignment on a thirty second mock interview. The mock interview question was so tell me about yourself. While keeping your statements under thirty seconds, and providing the right information for the job/career of choice. Each individual in the class was out of time and embarrassed. I started talking about sports and how nice the weather is. The correct way to answer the question "tell me about yourself", is to show how my experience relates to the job that i am interviewing for. My time was not good, my time over one minute."- Tyrone, from email
Ohio City Power Programs Helps People With Needs
 
Ohio City Power Friend Jessica Montgomery (left) stands with Stephanie Rychel, Business Services Consultant (center), and Lisa Pfeiffer-Braun Founder & Exec Dir Ohio City Power (right). Jessica is participating in a week-long Career Advancement Skills Workshop, hosted by Employment Connection, 1020 Bolivar Rd., in Cleveland, Ohio.
Shown above: Jessica Montgomery (left) stands with Stephanie Rychel, Business Services Consultant (center), and Lisa Braun Founder & Exec. Dir., Ohio City Power (right). Jessica participated in a week-long Career Advancement Skills Workshop hosted by Employment Connection.

Ohio City Power provides support to applicants by helping participants meet sometimes strict clothing requirements when attending workshop sessions, offering a small stipend to pay for public transportation or providing lunch coupons for the week. 

Visit the Ohio City Power website to donate here.

Most people gratefully accept; Tyrone, however, was one who turned down Ohio City Power's offer to provide lunch and bus fare assistance choosing instead to walk everyday to class, paying it forward for the next participant in the Pipeline. (See Cleveland Bus Transit Map below)


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End Of Story For Tyrone?

Tyrone went on to successfully complete the Ohio City Power and Employment Connection requirements and apply online for several job openings. An interview was scheduled for December 5, 2012.

April 2013 update: Tyrone continues to apply to open job positions at the Cleveland Clinic.

 - Written by Albert Wagner, Operations Manager, Ohio City Power; Edited and Published by Betsey Merkel

Find, Friend or Follow Ohio City Power! 

Copyright 2012 Ohio City Power. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Ohio City Power, Ohio City Power @ St. Paul's Community Church, 4427 Franklin Blvd., Cleveland, OH 44113. Phone: 1-440-289-1657 Web: www.ohiocitypower.net
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Location: 4427 Franklin Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44113, USA

Underlying Issues Challenge Serving Homeless Population

Ben Osborn, Quality Assurance Officer (left), at Ohio City Power's Federated Flies spends time coaching, mentoring and training new tiers. Shown: Ben Osborn and Dawn Brown.
Ben Osborn, Quality Assurance Officer (left), spends time coaching, mentoring and training new tier, Dawn Brown. At St. Paul's Community Outreach, 4427 Franklin Blvd., in Ohio City, Cleveland, Ohio.
As Ohio City Power assists the homeless population in getting back to the workforce, a December 2012 article on the Internet help accentuate some of the considerations to remember when serving the homeless population.

Recently a story from the New York Times went viral about a homeless man who was given a $100 pair of boots by a Police Officer after he was seen barefoot outside on a very cold night.

It turns out the man, Jeffrey Hillman, was not homeless, but has an apartment paid for by vouchers, social security and veterans benefits. 

 This, however, still brings attention to those suffering in the cold, the reasons for it and what can be done. Many others are still there in the cold, like Mr. Hillman was.

Some people wonder how people even survive outside on a cold Northern winter night. The homeless are a segment of the population Ohio City Power is proud to serve and support.

The following are some of considerations in helping the homeless, using this barefoot man in the cold as an example:
  • Homelessness can negatively affect a person’s self-worth in a number of ways.
  • Things could be at work here, such as pride, underlying fear or basic human emotions.
People generally do not like to think of themselves as “homeless”. In this society people have certain assumptions about the homeless, such as they are lazy or it is their own fault, and blame is often attached.

When Mr. Hillman was asked how he ended up homeless, he stared blankly, paused and said “I don’t know.” Pride could keep people in this situation from answering the question directly. Being homeless can take a mental toll, in addition to taking a physical toll.
A basic human emotion is to feel appreciated in some way and the absence of this can lead to a variety of problems. For some it is easier to hide from their problems than to face them.
  • The homeless are human and might not like to admit they have underlying problems.
One comment he made was “I could lose my life”. This underlying fear contributed to him being found shoeless in the cold again, after being given boots!
  • Another issue faced by the homeless is that middle-aged men in this society are expected to be able to provide for themselves. For some, the shame is too much to try to face people. 
One woman had said she bought him a pair of shoes a year ago. To be in the cold barefoot again indicates some sort of problem. It is possible he sold them for something like drugs, in which case there would be another underlying problem.

It is important to remember that some, even a Veteran like himself, are in these kinds of situations every day in cities all across America.
  • Another possibility for being homeless, mental illness, is another issue that could be hard to for some people to deal with. People do not like to think of themselves in this way, even if they did not cause it. 
When these problems add up with other problems it is often too late to try to regroup their lives, and homelessness results. The question, then, is where do you get assistance?

 If someone in the Cleveland area thinks assistance could be useful please contact 211, which is United Way’s First Call For Help, and they can inform you of where to get help.

 Deep down many people naturally would like to help those they think really need help. There is a perception of people holding out cups as con artists who don’t really need the help and unfortunately, this has probably always been part of the population. People generally aren’t quick to help in that scenario. People in that case would blame Mr. Hillman for being in that situation.

However, for some people there is an empathy that thinks, what if this were them? Thinking of yourself when you were that cold could make you want to help someone else in that situation.

The article does not give details about the Police Officer, but this tells you there are people somewhere who look out for others when conditions are unfavorable. It leads you to wonder how many other times this happens on a typical night that people do not hear about.

 Ohio City Power would also like to help those who are homeless and looking for guidance back into the workforce, for whatever reason.

- Written by Albert Wagner, Operations Manager, Ohio City Power; Edited and Published by Betsey Merkel

Find, Friend or Follow Ohio City Power!

Copyright 2012 Ohio City Power. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Ohio City Power, Ohio City Power @ St. Paul's Community Church, 4427 Franklin Blvd., Cleveland, OH 44113. Phone: 1-440-289-1657 Web: www.ohiocitypower.net
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Location: New York, NY, USA

Monday, March 19, 2012

Ohio City Power Builds Connectivity for Workforce Development

Shown: Jessica Montgomery (left); Stephanie Rychel, Business Services Consultant, Employment Connection (center); and Lisa Braun, Founder & Executive Director, Ohio City Power (right).


Ohio City Power Builds Connectivity for Workforce Development

Jessica Montgomery (see photo above) traveled to Employment Connection offices this morning accompanied by Ohio City Power Founder & Executive Director Lisa Braun for a preliminary interview to participate in a week-long Career Advancement Skills Workshop, hosted by Employment Connection, 1020 Bolivar Road in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Employment Connection Career Advancement Skills Workshop is part of a collaborative partnership with Northeast Ohio regional employer Cleveland Clinic to hire skilled workers. Learn about the Career Advancement Skills (CAS) Workshop here.

Ohio City Power builds connectivity to both locally based community and large skills training and employment organizations to strengthen regional workforce development capacity.

Ohio City Power Programs Support and Affirm Community

Jessica is the second Ohio City Power Friend to enroll in the Career Advancement Skills Workshop. Jessica prepared for her visit by participating in One-On-One, an Ohio City Power program focused on resume building and strengthening interview skills.

One-On-One is hosted twice monthly at St. Paul's Community Outreach, 4427 Franklin Boulevard in Ohio City, Cleveland, OH 44113. Directions here. Visit the Ohio City Power Calendar here.

Ohio City Power Partners Contribute Leadership

One-On-One is lead by Don Hoke, a retired senior manager of the Lubrizol Corporation and member of Elderlife, a volunteer program based at The Federated Church, an Ohio City Power partner organization located in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

How do you connect to skills training and employment opportunities offered by service organizations in your town or region? How does your community leverage partnerships and collaborations to advance skills training and employment?

Add your comments below, we'd like to hear from you!

Next Steps

Find, Friend or Follow Ohio City Power!

Copyright 2012 Ohio City Power. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. Ohio City Power, Ohio City Power @ St. Paul's Community Church, 4427 Franklin Blvd., Cleveland, OH 44113. Phone: 216-651-6250 ext. 2 Web: www.ohiocitypower.net

- Betsey Merkel, Ohio City Power Communications
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Location: 1020 Bolivar Rd, Cleveland, OH 44115, USA
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