The work behind getting a job

In our latest e-newsletter, I shared a story about a client who went through our Worker's Program. It's so inspiring that I wanted to share it here.

For those of you who haven't had a chance to read the story, it's about Gilles, who became homeless after losing his job and his home. He made his way to Ottawa and he landed at Shepherds of Good Hope. He made it clear from day one that he wanted to find work.

We run a program in our main shelter building called the Worker's Program. Working with a case manager, Gilles was able to access one of two computers in the lounge. Providing two computers might seem so simple, but it's hard these days to find a job without computer or Internet access.

We also worked with him to update his resume and how to search for jobs on the Internet, to mine those local opportunities.

After 10, days, he found work, although he was still living in the shelter. But thanks to the Worker's Program, he had access to a bed in between shifts. Normally, the men and women who stay at our shelter overnight have to leave during the day. Many will stay close by and take their meals in our soup kitchen. But our staff needs to have people out of the sleeping area so that we can clean up. But for people in the Worker's Program, we recognize that they might be on shift work, they might have a job that ends late at night or goes overnight. These people need to have a safe and quiet place to sleep.

We also make sure they can get to and from work by providing assistance with public transit. On his days off, Gilles could use the computers to look for a place to live. Eventually he found a place and we connected him with a City of Ottawa service that provided him with some assistance in coming up with first and last month's rent.

After all was said and done, Gilles went from living in a shelter to living in his own place with a job in five weeks.

Not everyone can follow the same path as Gilles. Many of our clients suffer from mental health issues and/or addictions. Homeless people come from all backgrounds and different circumstances. That's why we do more than provide shelter and food. We all need those. But we recognized a long time ago that we need to develop programming that can be tailored to an individual's needs. We need to help people based on where they are now.

In Gilles case, despite being homeless or near homeless for many years, he was at a spot where we could offer him shelter and food. And something more. We could offer him help realizing his goal of finding a job and his own place to live.

If you would like to help people like Gilles, pleae visit our donation page. If you would like to a tour of our facilities to discover what else we offer, here's how to contact me. 613-789-8210, ext. 247 or asilverman@shepherdsofgoodhope.com.