Shelby Neto – A Success Story

March 3, 2022/in Secure Jobs /by competenow

Shelby Neto was referred from the HomeBASE program to the Secure Jobs Program in 2019. Shelby is a young, single parent with two young children and a very limited support system. She started working as a Dietary Aide at a Nursing Home in 2019. However, she always wanted to pursue a career in the medical field where she could help people. Shelby was a Dietary Aide for about a year. Due to the pandemic, changes occurred that required her son to be home-schooled and Shelby had no daycare for her baby. She was now at home full-time making her unable to keep her job.

Shelby and her Secure Jobs Coach worked on a career plan pursuing her interest in the medical field. Due to a lack of childcare, they decided to pursue the option of virtual career training. Shelby was enrolled with the Ed2go (by Cengage) course to become a Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) that was projected to take her 6 months or 160 hours. Shelby was focused and dedicated and completed the course in one month.

The next step was to start working on her national certification exam with National Healthcareer Association (NHA). Again, with her persistence and hard work, Shelby passed the exam and is now a Nationally Certified Medical Administrative Assistant.

The Secure Jobs program was able to support each step of Shelby’s goals by paying for her Medical Administrative Assistant course, NHA exam fee, and other needs such as a laptop, stationery, etc. to ensure her success. Shelby currently has a 6-month internship at the Brigham and Women’s Pediatric Division working as a Medical Administrative Assistant, gaining on-the-job training and learning new skills.

Next, she and her Secure Jobs coach are working on her resume and refining her interview skills. Shelby is appreciative of what she has been able to accomplish because of Secure Jobs. Her demeanor and outlook have completely changed and she is more outgoing and confident. Shelby now dreams of owning a home and talks about her future with such positivity.

She shared a personal story with her coach: During dinner this past Thanksgiving with her extended family, her younger cousins all gathered around her to hear of her successes; they now look up to her and want to learn to become Medical Administrative Assistants someday. They asked Shelby to guide them into the medical field just like she was guided by her Secure Jobs team at Community Teamwork. Shelby is filled with pride and continues to work hard to continue paving the path to self-sufficiency and creating the life she has always wanted for herself and her family.

Giving Back to the Community

December 3, 2021/in Secure Jobs /by competenow

“Thank you very much for all the times you guys have been helping me. You guys have been an absolute Godsend and I can’t express how much I appreciate all the help that I have gotten from you guys; so thank you very much.” ~Christopher McCoy; Secure Jobs client since February 2020.

Christopher has been a member of the Secure Jobs Program since February of 2020. When he first received his approval for RAFT, he was referred to the Secure Jobs program for enrollment. Christopher was working as a part-time school bus driver and had hoped to find a better paying position that would provide him with growth opportunities in a lifelong career. CTI’s Secure Jobs program has continued to support Christopher’s needs throughout his time in the program. Designed to help clients navigate through professional and financial barriers, Secure Jobs has been able to help Christopher throughout the pandemic by connecting him with community resources, including the opportunity to provide Christmas presents for his son. By staying active in the program, his Financial Career Coach has been able to connect Christopher with support and resources that have helped him move closer to his goal. Christopher felt discouraged after experiencing a personal setback, and wasn’t sure if he would be able to return to work after the pandemic. He knew that he could count on his coach for encouragement, resources and hope. Together, they actively worked on goals, employment searches and interviewing skills, and utilized the time to help Christopher access the best resources. Since then, he has figured out how to work through his challenges and still be productive with employment. After discussing his personal setback with his employer, they were able to accommodate his needs and provide him with opportunities and support to successfully re-enter the workforce.

In Christopher’s spare time, he is volunteering as an Ambassador for Subaru. Subaru has dedicated the month of November to “Giving Back”. They provided their Ambassadors with the essentials to assemble personal care kits that provide basic everyday necessities that could be distributed to homeless people in the community. Christopher contacted CTI and explained how grateful he is for our continuous help and his motivation for wanting to give back. In return, Christopher and his coach worked together on the best way to distribute these kits. Christopher wanted to help children and families who were entering the shelter system. The Resource Center seemed to be the perfect place for these kits to find their way to the shelters. Christopher hopes that he will be able to continue to have more opportunities to give back to a community that has been there for him.

~CTI’s Secure Jobs Program.

Secure Jobs Success Stories Chosen for National Fireman Report (March 2017) #1

Nathaly entered the Secure Job program in January of this year. Upon entry into the program, The Secure job team immediately identified the key supports Nathaly needed to go forward. The SJ staff collaborated with Community Teamwork’s Housing department to support Nathaly into accessing stable housing via the New Horizons EA Program. Within a month of entering Secure Jobs, and the collaborative Secure Jobs and Re-housing action plans, Nathaly accessed TAFDC assistance for the first time and acquired childcare voucher s for her two sons. With Nathaly critical support’s in place, she clearly identified her employment plan and began her medical training as a nurse assistant. Nathaly performed outstanding in both her classroom efforts and in her external externship. Nathaly’s hard work and inherent fit as a nurse assistant resulted in her being the second member in secure job history to be offered a position from Life Care Center in Billerica where her clinical externship took place. Nathaly began her new job only one week after her training ended and she has not looked back since. Nathaly is working full time (40 hours) at Life Care Center in Billerica and is partaking in the Community Teamwork’s Financial Literacy Academy at night.

Additional Successes in March:

Two members from year 4 were hired in positions with starting salaries in the 40, 00/ a year bracket.

The month of March marked significant success for several members of the secure job retention cohort. Community Teamwork’s Secure Job Program has continued our focus on supporting retention participants in accomplishing their goals that fall into their 5-year career and educational plans.

This has been represented in three key areas of success

Secondary Education
Promotions/Salary
Public Advocacy

Secure Jobs Success Stories Chosen for National Fireman Report (March 2017) #2

August 24, 2021/0 Comments/in Employment and Training EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING, Secure Jobs, success /by competenow

Jen Cody a year one participant returned to College in September. With the support of her employer, NFI –North American Family Institute, Jen was named to Middlesex Community College’s Merit List for her superlative work in the classroom. Additionally, Jennifer’s public advocacy role has continued, as she was selected to be a panelist for the MASSBAR association’s inaugural conference on the Juvenile and Child Welfare system.

In March, Kate Murray a year two, secure job member retention member who became employed at Comcast in September of 2015, received a promotion and is now earning a salary of 44,000; this is not including her quarterly raises. Due to Kate’s performance and leadership qualities, she was named to both Comcast’s Leadership management team and as a Peer Mentor for new hires. Because of Kate’s potential and exceptional work, Comcast is paying the full tuition for Kate to begin Southern New Hampshire University’s Bachelor’s program in Business Management!

D.B.’s Story

August 24, 2021/in Employment and Training DHCD, Employment, EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING, Fireman Foundation, Housing Stabilization and Preservation Trust Fund, long-term employment, Lowell Transitional Living Shelter, Massachusetts Department of Housing & Community Development, RAFT, Secure Jobs /by competenow

Secure Jobs Success Story

D.B. came to Secure Jobs program as a referral from the Resource Center here at CTI. He relocated to Lowell, MA from Detroit, MI because he felt he needed a drastic change in his life. He expressed feelings of being burned out from his time working for the Corrections Dept. in his home state. D.B. is living at the Lowell Transitional Living Shelter where he was advised to visit CTI for further assistance. D.B. was quickly referred to the SJ program and enrolled on 10/18/18. We began to work on updating his resume and developing a cover letter. We taught him how to modify these documents, using specific job postings, to reflect the desired position. D.B. worked hard on his job search every day until he landed a full time position, with full benefits, at Securitas (a security company). Although the position pays just $14.00/hr. it will earn him enough money to move out of shelter, with the help of our RAFT program, and a place of his own. D.B. will continue to participate in the program until he acquires a position with a company in the field of his choice, Human Services. But for now, he is proud to have found a job and will soon be able to leave shelter and live on his own.

More about Community Teamwork’s Secure Job Program

Gainful employment is critical to a family’s ability to maintain housing stability. The Secure Jobs program helps people achieve the long term objective of self-sufficiency and permanent housing. Since its inception, the program has helped more than 1oo people with the steps needed to secure long-term employment.

The Secure Jobs Initiative was established in 2013 as a pilot program in partnership with the Fireman Foundation with funding through the Housing Stabilization and Preservation Trust Fund. Other partners in launching this program include the Massachusetts Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD) and Eastern Bank. This initiative provides job readiness skills training, eliminates barriers to employment and connects families with suitable employers in jobs with defined career paths. The program provides job training, job search services and a year of stabilization services for participants.

In addition to providing clients with personalized employment services, our Secure Jobs staff works with the client to remove barriers to success by linking participants with childcare resources, transportation to and from training programs, helping navigate options for people who have challenges with CORIs, and providing skills training, job readiness training, and job search services.

For more information or to schedule an appointment please contact the Financial Education (FEC) Office, 978.654.5673. Located at 165 Merrimack Street Lowell MA 01852.

Secure Jobs

May 25, 2021/in Employment and Training, Financial Education Secure Jobs /by competenow