OFFENDER EMPLOYMENT SERVICES
MARCH 2007
I
am very pleased to announce that one of my clients who
just recently graduated from the MIG welding training
class has landed a job.
I have been working with this young lady since November
of 2006. When I first met with her, she was very
pessimistic about no one hiring her due to her
background, she kept saying "Teresa, no one is going to
hire me, I have tried and tried to get a job, I can't
even get a job at McDonalds, I kept telling her that she
needed to believe in herself if she wanted anyone to
believe in her. This was a constant conversation we
would have, She could of easily gone back to her old
behaviors after what happened to her and her family in
December of 2006. The home that they had been living in
burnt down right around Christmas time. She and her
family literally lost everything. Christmas gifts
included. She is a single parent with 3 small children.
The Red Cross put her and her family in a hotel and
currently she and her family are still living there. The
house is in the process of being rebuilt.
I am so
very proud of her. She did not use this
as an excuse to go back to her old
behaviors. She continued to push
forward, and we continued to work
together along with her CCO in
Sunnyside. This is a good example of
collaboration of agencies. I have been
working together with DSHS work first
Sunnyside, DOC Sunnyside, YVCC Yakima
and with employers. She is working full
time at Columbia Crest Winery. WOW, you
can't even believe how jazzed I am about
this, when our clients succeed like she
did, it makes our job so worthwhile. I
will be sending her a letter of
congratulations and I am also going to
see if she is willing to come in and
speak to some of my other clients.
OFFENDER EMPLOYMENT
SERVICES
DECEMBER 2006
I moved up
here from Atlanta, Georgia. I had just been convicted of a
felony and I honestly thought my life as I know it was over.
I had lost my apartment, car and everything that I knew
including my so called friends. As of then something had to
give. With no one to turn to for help I called the one person
that I thought might take me in, my mom. I found my way up here
to Olympia and moved in with my folks. After being rejected to
just about every job I applied for, my sister said go to
WorkSource. She took me and I found the Offender Program and
Terry.
There were classes available that
assist people in my situation and Terry was able to teach me
that I was looking at it all wrong. My mentality when I walked
in to fill out an application had to change. I was walking in
thinking I wasn't going to get the job and that is what I got.
He even showed me how to fill out an application. Who knew there
is a wrong or right way? Anyway at the WorkSource with the help
of Terry and Joan, I was able not only to find my own true worth
but to see I am somebody to be proud of. Your past doesn't make
the person. With new found self-esteem on hand and pride in the
other I had not found one job but 2 in the same week.
I now work a stable job at Am/Pm
and have room to excel. I've been working two years in March. I
have a loving husband and only live down the street from my mom.
I'll be sure to keep you informed of my progress. Once again
thank you for the Offender Program at WorkSource Thurston, Terry
and Joan for helping me, you both are Awesome.
If you are looking for the
services Ivey is talking about in her letter, please see the
information below:
Pacific Mountain WorkForce,
located at
WorkSource Thurston offers multiple programs for people
with convictions including one-on-one case management, and
Get Employed Today! GET is a 42 hour workshop designed to
help people with convictions identify transferable skills,
set and achieve employment, education and life goals, market
themselves to employers, and transition successfully back
into their communities.
Services are available in
WorkSource offices in
Thurston,
Mason,
Grays Harbor and
Pacific Counties. For more information contact Steve
Perry at (360) 570-4277.
GOODWILL INDUSTRIES
NOVEMBER 2006
I wanted you
to be the first to know. I am now employed as a project
engineer for a world-class engineering company
in their Spokane Office. I want to thank you for your
counseling and helpful ideas. It was your idea to put
together a Portfolio of my work and examples of my
skills. That gave me a chance to review my professional
career and remember the good things that I have done for
this planet. I sent you a copy. That portfolio, and your
counseling on properly addressing the felony issue, was
what helped me get the job.I did one other thing that
helped me get the job… I volunteered my time without pay
for a week’s period. The company was interested in
proposing on a large engineering project that was
perfect for me. I prepared a 56-page professional
proposal that incorporated some innovative and
alternative ideas to solve a difficult wastewater
problem for a town in Idaho. I believe we have a good
chance in being selected to do that job. I interviewed
with a company vice president and the president of the
company, and today I received my offer letter. I will
begin work on Monday at a professional salary. I already
have a nice private office, my e-mail account, a great
computer and the latest software to use in my work
(which I have been using for the past week).
Those of us who have been through this horrible legal
system have really been beaten down, humiliated, and
embarrassed and in many cases, financially ruined.
People in these businesses really understand about the
“criminal” charges. It is important to regain confidence
in ourselves and put all that behind us. Your advice was
so important to my getting this job, I can’t thank you
enough. Keep up the good work.
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