A non-profit group based in Pittsburgh recently launched programming aimed at preparing low-income parents for success in the work force.
The organization, Pennsylvania Women Work, received a $500,000 grant from the Department of Labor that allows them to focus on young adults with children that are living in poverty.
The program, GROW “Generations Realizing Occupational Wellness,” focuses on those who are unemployed, underemployed or lacking sufficient income, career skills or budget managing skills to provide access to a better family life.
Based off of a flagship program “New Choices”—the statewide, state-funded program that focused on single-mothers and displaced homemakers, GROW offers a gender-neutral focus that welcomes both young men and women to receive the training.
“We were not getting to young people (age 18-35), we were totally missing that demographic,” said Julie Marx, executive director of PA Women Work.
The nonprofit found that the two largest barriers for the lack of participation in job-readiness programs for the young parents are transportation and childcare.
To thwart that, they decided to bring GROW inside of the community as opposed to requiring the participants to commute to a specific location. They also provide childcare for parents during the sessions.
Sessions in Homewood take place at Crescent Early Childhood Education Center & The Learning Hub, and the session in Hazelwood meet at the Carnegie Public Library.
The 5-week course will meet twice a week for three hours each session. Curriculum will focus on empowerment and career building for parents while providing childcare using the Head Start model from the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC).
Topics in the curriculum for parents include: skills identification, interviewing techniques, personality assessment, résumé writing, work/life balance, handling a career as a parent, stress/time management, networking and personal finance management.
Donyatic Stallworth is enrolled in the Homewood classes. The 40-year-old mother of four says that she enjoys the small classes because it provides one-on-one opportunities.
“It’s very informative,” Stallworth said. “It’s helping me realize obstacles and how to pass them in work force.”
“Our goal is not for the outcome to just result in a job,” said Marx. “We help those enrolled connect with benefits to get their GED to finish degrees that are partial. That makes such a difference in the job search.”
GROW also has welcomed the challenge of coaching ex-offenders though the employment search.
Senior Project Manager Michael Cunningham said, “We want to teach them how to talk about their record while being able to explain gaps in employment and explore possible expungement.”
Cunningham said that GROW will be partnering with neighborhood legal services to verify whether or not offenses are able to be expunged. If so the offender will receive expungement at no charge.
“We want to truly help families, watch them grow, set goals and achieve sustainability to help the parent help the child,” said Cunningham.
Donyatic Stallworth said she has high hopes after the completion of the course, “I’m hoping to gain full time employment… I can be one of the success stories in GROW’s newsletter,” she said.
GROW has a rolling enrollment with the next session starting in January. For more information, visit www.pawomenwork.org or contact Michael Cunningham at 412-742-4362.
(Samson X Horne is a contributing writer to New Pittsburgh Courier. He can be reached at samson.x.horne@gmail.com.)
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