INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — 14 Indian River County residents graduated from a pilot educational program designed to help homeless and formerly homeless people develop and strengthen critical skills to improve employability and help break the cycle of poverty.
The program is a collaborative effort led by the Indian River Community Foundation involving Indian River State College, Habitat for Humanity, Harvest Food and Outreach, and the Samaritan Center.
“I have learned to identify my strengths & weaknesses, skills I do every day, and to recognize my assets by developing a positive self concept. Most importantly, I learned how to market myself to employers, to tailor my resume to meet their employment needs, and to make them want to hire me,” said Bridgette Dryden, a participant from the Samaritan Center.
According to the Community Foundation Executive Director Kerry Bartlett, her organization spent six months last year convening a series of meetings to better understand the challenges nonprofits, particularly those in the homeless and hunger sectors, were facing in providing services to their clients.
“These discussions uncovered that several organizations were each administering similar job skills training programs for their clients. In digging deeper, three of the organizations agreed they could reach better outcomes and use resources more efficiently by joining forces to provide this training,” Bartlett explained.
Bartlett sought the advice of Indian River State College, which proposed a customized training program through their division of Business and Entrepreneurship Services and Training. The three collaborating organizations worked with Sherrie Coleman, IRSC Business Solutions Consultant, to develop the curriculum for the pilot project.
“We used national studies and benchmarks to identify the core skill groups essential to getting and keeping a job. These are the skills necessary for career success at any level of employment. At the same time, we also saw the opportunity to give these students hope that continued education for improved employability was well within their reach,” added Coleman.
The pilot program focused on skills such as professionalism, communication, time management, and problem solving. The students also learned about employer expectations, personal branding, and emotional intelligence.
“Having the college involved was an exciting opportunity for our clients. We were able to introduce the idea of higher education in a non-threatening environment, many of whom never felt college was an option for them.
They now have one credit hour and hope that the dream of a college degree could really become a reality,” Andy Bowler said, President/CEO of Indian River County Habitat for Humanity.
The training workshop was offered in two sessions. A two-week intensive day class was held at the IRSC Mueller Campus for clients who were not currently working but actively seeking employment.
A four-week evening class was hosted at the Habitat for Humanity Training Center for clients who had a job, but understood the need to strengthen their employability skills to improve their circumstances.
Funding for the pilot project came through an in-kind commitment from IRSC and anonymous donor through the Indian River Community Foundation.
With the success of the pilot program, Bartlett said there is opportunity to expand to include nonprofit organizations from outside the hunger and homeless sector.
“After word spread about the pilot program, other charities that serve disadvantaged residents began expressing interest in the collaboration. These types of job skills training programs are not limited to the hunger and homeless sectors,” Bartlett said.
The Community Foundation intends to continue working with IRSC and the nonprofit sector to find funding to take the project to scale.
The Indian River Community Foundation began operating formally in 2008 and currently holds over $18 million in assets designated for charitable purposes, the majority of which are held in donor advised funds.
The foundation’s mission is to build a stronger community through donor-driven philanthropy.
For more information about the foundation, please visit www.IRCommunityFoundation.com or to support the Employability Skills Training collaboration, please contact Bartlett at (772) 492-1407.