Capital Region Cares Capital Region Cares 2018-2019 | Page 72

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icole Openshaw was 25 years old and living in a other topics. Before Wiley’s retirement in 2014, she gift-
shelter when she heard about Women’s Empow- ed her remaining inventory to Women’s Empowerment.
erment a few years ago. The Sacramento-based Since The Get A Job Kit paid job training program began
nonprofit helps women who are experiencing in 2014, 127 graduates have completed the training, with
homelessness find employment and gain financial 77 percent now employed with local businesses. Through
independence through a nine-week assistance program. the social enterprise, Women’s Empowerment has sold
At the time, Openshaw didn’t have a job and didn’t more than 22,000 kits over the last five years to career
know how to create a resume. Through Women’s Empow- technical education programs, high schools, veteran pro-
erment, she says she gained the confidence and skills to grams, nonprofits, vocational and technical colleges, and
begin her college education and now is pursuing a career anti-recidivism programs.
in school counseling.
The kit includes three phases for entering the work-
“They helped develop a new perspective on myself so force and maintaining a job. The first phase helps prepare
that I could look back on my life and see valuable skills participants for their job search. They complete a master
and learn how to market myself,” Openshaw says. “In- application, which is like a resume, but more detailed.
stead of looking at my history as an obstacle, I could look They also work on crafting their resumes and cover let-
at it as a skill set unique to myself. I was employable, ters, as well as a 30-second verbal introduction for em-
hardworking and capable.”
ployers — basically a pitch for women to market their em-
Founded in 2001, Women’s Empowerment assists wom- ployment skills during interviews.
en from a variety of backgrounds: 61 percent are women
Phase two covers securing the position, which in-
of color; 75 percent are moth-
cludes topics like how to dress
ers; 80 percent are survivors
for a professional workplace,
of domestic violence; 40 per-
how to keep scheduled in-
cent have survived childhood
terviews organized, create a
abuse; 65 percent experience
job log and online job search.
mental illness; 60 percent are
Participants also review the
in recovery from substance
“Pocket Guide to Confident In-
abuse; less than 50 percent are
terviewing” before interviews.
able to eat three regular meals
The kit also includes thank you
a day; and about 40 percent
notes and envelopes to send to
have criminal records.
hiring managers after inter-
But when the Great Reces-
views. Phase three covers what
sion hit in 2008, the organiza-
happens once a job is secured,
tion found that despite all of
such as dealing with conf lict
its efforts to prepare women
in the workplace, navigating
— Nicole Openshaw, graduate, Women’s Empowerment
for the workforce, about 20
the first year on the job and
percent of its graduates were still unable to land a job. The leaving positive legacies if they eventually decide to leave
organization’s leadership realized it needed to do more. It the position.
conducted a feasibility study in 2010 to explore possible
Women’s Empowerment assembles and sells The Get
social enterprises. Meanwhile, it continued developing a Job Kit to 14 other organizations in the region to use,
employer partnerships that could offer industry-specific including Wind Youth Services in Sacramento, which as-
training for graduates to gain valuable real-world expe- sists youth aged 12-24 from various backgrounds. Most
rience.
who use the program are 18-24 years old — a critical tran-
The organization also relied on one of its volunteers, sition time from childhood to adulthood, says Amalia
Shirley Wiley, to help with its goals of improving job read- Griego, Wind’s director of philanthropy.
iness. Wiley, who had witnessed several rounds of layoffs
Griego says a lot of the youth who seek out Wind come
while working in community relations at Aerojet and to them because they have aged out of foster care and
Mercy San Juan Hospital back in the 1990s, had created have nowhere else to go, or their family is experiencing
an all-in-one kit for job seekers, according to Lisa Culp, homelessness and they need to find employment. Wind
executive director of Women’s Empowerment.
Youth Services has used The Get a Job Kit for the past year
The Get a Job Kit is a set of instructions and worksheets to help youth experiencing homelessness enter the work-
that provide a roadmap to employment. It is used as part force; 49 youths are actively participating in the program,
of the Women’s Empowerment nine-week program that Griego says.
covers job-seeking skills; self-care; boundaries and code-
Sacramento-based Transforming Lives, Cultivating
pendency; domestic-violence support; professional be- Success utilizes the kit to assist with The Clubhouse, its
havior; nutrition; and studies on personalities, among employment program. Manager Lisa Ernst says the kit ap-
“Instead of looking at my
history as an obstacle, I
could look at it as a skill
set unique to myself. I was
employable, hardworking
and capable.”
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