A Positive Change

It is difficult for many of our clients to find employment for various reasons, but even more so for those who have convictions in their background. John came to our office in the fall, in need of cash assistance and a little extra help identifying his goals... and sticking to them. You see, John is a young, single father who has been in and out of jail most of his life, does not have a high school diploma and feels discouraged by his inconsistent job history, which has led to an apparent apathy. From the beginning, John's Employment Case Manager (ECM) knew that he would need to encourage and keep John accountable every step of the way; to be that strong but gentle presence that this client may not have had in his past.

John was assigned to do job search and he started attending Career Club where he found helpful job leads and encouragement from other job seekers. He would often meet with the Employment Resource Coordinator (ERC) and go over his progress. When a job did not surface right away, John decided to try going back to school full time but soon felt overwhelmed and defeated trying to balance all of the responsibilities. It was too much too soon. He went back and forth with his ECM trying to settle on what he would like to do for the required hours of participation for the Welfare-to-Work program. Again, the ECM and ERC showed patience and com~assion for this young man who needed direction and seemed to require of them a great deal of energy. At times, it was clear he needed the help. At other times it seemed that he was taking advantage of the help being given him. The ECM and ERC often had to have very direct conversations with him to help him recognize some of his destructive patterns. In a caring and respectful manner, the ERC often explained to him how his behavior would be interpreted by employers - helping him to take each step of the job search process more seriously. Meanwhile, his ECM connected him with a Work Experience site volunteering for the County of San Diego to give him an opportunity to gain additional job skills.

John was well loved at the volunteer site but he knew that, as a single father, he needed to find employment to sustain his family. On his own time, he continued to come in to the office for job leads until one day, he found a full time job paying $10 per hour! He was so grateful to the ERC who had connected him with the job opening but was reminded it was through his own determination as well as his skills and experience that helped him get the job.

Often times as social workers, we feel our resources—including our time and energy—get spread too thinly. Yet we know that each person, each client is worth all of the effort we put in. John may not be a picture perfect example of a success story, nor can we say that we will not see him again in Career Club. But one can tell by the look on his face that he has been changed by the individual care and patience given to him. Often we give, give and give again... Sometimes this gift comes back to us in ways that we may not recognize right away. It is enough to feel the winds of change blowing for somebody. And it's good change.