Hope Gardens Transitional Employment Program

Vital Stats

Michelle T

Chapel Hill, NC

  • people helped35
  • People Doing It20

The Problem

According to the Orange County Partnership, the number of homeless people in Orange County increased from 151 to 181 in 2010. The Inter-Faith Council, a non-profit that operates two homeless shelters in Orange County, has seen the number of homeless residents in its shelters decrease from 760 to 681 over the last two years, which they attribute in part to residents extending their stays due to lack of employment. My experience with homeless outreach has shown me that there is a missing link between job-ready, homeless individuals and gainful employment. Individuals often have trouble securing a new job if they have had a spotty employment record or problems with the law; others who land jobs have trouble maintaining them. In part, this is due to the fact the employers are unwilling to take on employees they see as a risk: those who have gaps in their employment records or those who are living in a shelter. Also, the traumatic experience of living without a home may impact a person’s ability to maintain the sort of lifestyle necessary to being a good employee, in terms of habits related to work, attitude, timeliness, and financial savings. Working with homelessness through HOPE Garden’s pilot transitional employment program, writing workshops, and a financial literacy program has allowed me to make friends who live in the shelters and on the streets. Many have the ability to lead productive lives, but lack the opportunity and skills to find and keep a job. I have also been co-chair of HOPE Gardens since August, and I understand the difficulties and rewards of leading such a program.

Plan of Action

I have been involved with HOPE Gardens since November of 2009. I was one of five student staff who implemented our pilot transitional employment program and I spent many hours working in the garden beside our transitional employees. I saw the positive difference we made in their lives, and I also saw that we could have done so much more. This past fall, I worked as part of a six-person team to redesign the transitional employment program, with more of a focus on career building and establishing a sustainable network of social support that our employees will carry with them beyond the summer of 2011. This spring I will be working to attain funding for participant wages, design and distribute applications, and hire employees. Upon acceptance into program, the homeless employees will enter a 2-week training period during which the student staff and I will get to know them, introduce them to the garden and sustainable agriculture techniques, and assist them in opening a savings account with CEF. Over the next 12 weeks, the participants, the student staff, and I will manage the garden space and sell produce. The participants will also enroll in a 12-week savings program with CEF, a local non-profit that runs a savings and financial literacy program, during which participants will open savings accounts and learn skills such as budgeting and job readiness. They will work with the garden staff and CEF officers, to search for jobs, build resumes, and discuss personal and job related goals.
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Homelessness
Hunger
Homelessness and Poverty

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