Tag Archive for: Employment

low z ctigrant
low z ctigrant

Kronos grant bolsters CTI YouthBuild

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LOWELL — Kronos employees have awarded Community Teamwork Inc. with a $20,060 GiveInspired grant that will help YouthBuild students learn how to manage their money and address transportation barriers to employment — two key pieces in attaining independence and self-sufficiency.

Thanks to the grant, YouthBuild participants will receive financial literacy training and one-on-one coaching sessions on budgeting, saving and credit from FDIC-certified financial specialists. It will also help fund a pilot program to help up to eight students obtain their driver’s licenses by assisting them with the costs associated with driver education, permits and Registry of Motor Vehicles fees.

At the grant presentation, held Aug. 23 at the Lowell Farmers Market at Lucy Larcom Park, YouthBuild Program Director Siobhan Sheehan thanked the Kronos representatives for understanding “that to get to a job, you need to drive there, to be successful, you need financial literacy.”

“Ladies, I can’t thank you enough,” Sheehan said to the members of the Kronos GiveInspired Committee. “This means so much to us. You are breaking barriers and you’re helping us end poverty by starting right here, right now, with this.”

Representatives of Community Teamwork Inc., Kronos, CTI YouthBuild participants and city officials pose with the check for the $20,060 Kronos GiveInspired grant presented to CTI to support its YouthBuild program at the Lowell Farmers Market at Lucy Larcom Park on Aug. 23. (Courtesy photo)

Kronos GiveInspired Chairwoman Sarah Sheehy said CTI representatives had to apply for the grant, do a presentation and be approved by a scorecard ranking and vote.

“The passion of this organization just shone through and was contagious, and they really fit in with our charter of empowering and inspiring the next generation workforce,” Sheehy said. “So great fit, great partnership. We look forward to continuing to partner with you.”

YouthBuild serves low-income young adults ages 16-24 who dropped out of school, live in Lowell and surrounding towns and are ready for a second chance for educational and vocational training. The program provides participants with High School Equivalency Test preparation, vocational training in construction or culinary trades, one-on-one case management, leadership development, life-skills training and career and academic coaching.

Carl Howell, CTI division director of housing and homeless services, said the grant will give YouthBuild students the skills to be fiscally responsible once employed and help them develop economic plans for their future. He said the assistance with getting driver’s licenses is also key.

“Getting a job means nothing if you are unable to get to work. With driver’s education costs increasing, our students don’t have the upfront money it takes to enroll into a driver’s ed class,” Howell said. “These funds from Kronos help bridge that gap and allow our students to expand their search and opportunities to become gainfully employed.”

 

Kronos grant bolsters CTI YouthBuild

Job and Skills Training
Job and Skills Training

Community Connections to Employment & Training

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cti th logo photo taglineFocused on Long-term Stability

CommCET (Community Connections to Employment and Training) is breaking down financial barriers for over 100 disadvantaged families in the Merrimack Valley through an innovative approach that combines job training, education, housing, childcare, case management and follow-up services. This comprehensive strategy ensures greater long-term success for families that were previously homeless or are currently at risk of homelessness.

“Our workforce development efforts combined with permanent housing and essential family supports equip families with tools to maintain long-term stability,” says JoAnn Howell, Community Teamwork’s CommCET Director. “It isn’t about short-term solutions. CommCET helps the client establish a long-term approach by building employment skills; accessing job apprenticeships, training and employment; and preparing for self-sufficiency economically, financially and mentally. Our program’s aim is to successfully create life changing, long-term solutions. I am excited to be part of these changes.”

To date, CommCET has assisted 67 participants to become employed.  At the heart of this success are partnerships with the Lowell Career Center, surrounding vocational technical high schools and area employers. Twenty seven out of 33 participants are currently employed after acquiring new workforce skills at various regional vocational technical schools by training for Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) certifications, medical administration, business, electronics, welding, and office administration.

Profiles of success:

Jocelyn, a single mother, and her two children lived at the Best Western hotel in Chelmsford, when their family first entered the CommCET program. To accommodate her and other homeless families with children temporarily living at the hotel, staff created a transportation route that drives the children to their childcare programs, allowing the parents to pursue employment training and jobs. In Jocelyn’s case, she was able to confidently attend job interviews, knowing her children were safe and being educated in Community Teamwork’s childcare program. This and other critical case management supports led her obtaining full time employment at Lowell’s Woodbriar Nursing Facility.

Tiffany, who successfully attended the Lowell Career Center’s back-to-work program, struggled to find sufficient employment. Fortunately, thanks to her retraining, expansion of marketable skills and dedication, she landed a job with Community Teamwork, working in our Fuel Assistance department.

 

RenewUI x F
RenewUI x F

Emergency Unemployment Passes Senate

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RenewUI x FA critical three-month extension of federal unemployment benefits for 1.3 million jobless Americans, including nearly 60,000 Massachusetts residents, won a key procedural vote in the Senate today. The 60-37 vote has given supporters hope that the House will next move to pass the Emergency Unemployment Compensation.

As we wait for the House vote, thousands of families and individuals are already feeling the full impact of having lost their benefits as of December 29th, 2013. This means they are going without some or many of the basics including food, medications, heat and shelter.

We encourage you to contact your federal representatives to extend the Emergency Unemployment Compenstion (EUC) program as soon as possible.

To find your U.S. Congressman:

http://www.house.gov/representatives

 

unemploymentSTILL
unemploymentSTILL

Help Extend Emergency Unemployment Compensation

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unemploymentSTILLNearly 60,000 Massachusetts residents are among the 1.3 million people in the U.S. who lost their unemployment benefits when the federal extension program expired on December 29th, 2013.

Congress is back in Washington this week and has begun the debate over the emergency program’s future.

Here at Community Teamwork and at other Community Action agencies across the commonwealth, we are starting to hear the real-life stories of everyday people affected by this cut as they and their families brace for severe hardship in the months ahead, should Congress refuse to reinstate these benefits.

The Boston Globe also has reported the total economic impact to the state could be a loss of $750 million to $900 million over the year, largely due to reduced consumer spending.

We are encouraging you to contact your federal representatives to extend the Emergency Unemployment Compenstion (EUC) program as soon as possible.

To find your U.S. Congressman:

http://www.house.gov/representatives