THE INDY HVRP JOBS REPORT (April 27-May 03, 2014)

Jobs Report 04-27-14

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Welcome to The INDY HVRP JOBS REPORT for April 27-May 03, 2014. Click the underlined link above (under the picture) and then wait a few moments for the pages of the pdf portfolio to load. That will access an Indianapolis job search of local postings, searched by 12 job boards using 60 job-search terms.

Each search term is presented in the top window with a slider control for easy viewing. Pick a search and a page preview will appear in the lower window. And as always, good hunting!

HVRP INDY JOBS REPORT (April 20-26)

INDY JOBS REPORT (April 20-26,2014)

Welcome to The INDY HVRP JOBS REPORT for April 13-18, 2014. Click the underlined link above (under the picture) and then wait a few moments for the pages of the pdf portfolio to load. That will access an Indianapolis job search of local postings, searched by 12 job boards using 60 job-search terms.

Each search term is presented in the top window with a slider control for easy viewing. Pick a search and a page preview will appear in the lower window. And as always, good hunting!

INDY HVRP HELPS VETERAN GET SECOND CHANCE

Jeff S. served in the Marine Corps during the early 80s, earning a Deployment Ribbon and an Honorable Discharge. But after the Corps, Jeff fell on hard times. Alcohol became an addiction—one that destroyed his personal life and nearly destroyed him. He couldn’t hold a steady job because of the addiction, so he was hustling from day to day just to keep going.

Then he made a bad decision that greatly accelerated a downward slide: He signed a check he had no business signing—just to get some money to eat and pay for some shelter. That act of desperation earned him a felony conviction for forgery in 2007.

Jeff admits today that his arrest was the wake-up call he needed. It forced him to take a hard look at himself and see how far his life had unraveled. Unless he made some different choices immediately, there wouldn’t be anything left to salvage. So Jeff made a Marine’s decision: he faced the truth about his life, his addiction, and his behavior. He asked for help and enrolled into a special substance abuse program for veterans, the R.E.S.T. program (Residential Employment and Substance Abuse Treatment). He stuck with the treatment plan; and by December of 2010, he had logged over a year completely free from alcohol. He was proving himself a success—both to himself and to the counselors who worked with him.

Upon achieving this benchmark in his recovery program, Jeff now was authorized to deal with employment issues. And that’s when the staff of HVRP met him. Jeff applied to the HVRP career program. After assessment by staff, he was assigned to the HVRP Skills That Work workshop, a weeklong training program that equips HVRP veterans with an eye-catching resume, special job-search and internet computer tools, as well as professional interviewing skills. He completed the workshop, impressing HVRP staff with his commitment and seriousness. Staff found him to be extremely pleasant, humble, and realistic. Moreover, he wasn’t work shy. He performed every task assigned to him with grace and good humor. 

The next step for Jeff was the HVRP Guided Job Search program. For three days each week, he spent several hours in the HVRP Job-Search Room, under the tutelage of staff, working to follow up on job leads. He proved to be responsible and dependable. So it was with concern and disappointment that staff watched him apply for job after job without a job offer.

He was applying for jobs for which he was qualified, but employers weren’t responding to his applications. HVRP staff suspected that the problem was his recent criminal conviction—the felony forgery conviction from 2007. Most employers require that a felony be at least 5 to 10 years in the past before they will even consider an job application—if they agree to consider it at all. Jeff’s conviction was simply too fresh.

But Jeff was a veteran fighting hard to win his life back.  He had proved that.  And one of the missions of HVRP is to help veterans like Jeff get that second chance at life.  So we took special action.  HVRP had developed a relationship with Denison Parking, a local employer that wanted to help veterans.  HVRP staff thought that Jeff would be a perfect fit.  So HVRP made a special appeal to Denison executives to advocate for Jeff, outlining the successful steps he had taken to change his life.  We asked Denison to give Jeff serious consideration for an available maintenance position, despite his criminal history.  We also pledged that HVRP would stand with Jeff and would follow up with him after employment to ensure his success. 

The recommendation Jeff received from HVRP persuaded Denison Parking to hire him on a trial basis. For three months since, he has earned recognition from Denison as one of its stellar employees.  In fact, Denison recently promoted him to a better shift and has entrusted him with greater responsibility.  Jeff is grateful for the second chance he’s received, and he’s making the most of it. He is a persuasive example that offering a veteran a second chance simply makes good business sense. And Indy HVRP is pleased to have helped make it happen. 

 –David Richardson, Employment Coordinator

 

DISCLAIMER:  Preparation of this item was funded by the United States Department of Labor under Grant No. E-9-5-6-0037-H2.  This document does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U. S. Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U. S. Government.

HVRP HELPS VETERANS TO SUCCEED–CLIFF’S STORY

In 1977, Cliff enlisted in the U. S. Army and trained professionally as a culinary arts specialist. He served on the culinary team assigned to prepare and serve quality meals to the thousands of soldiers who enter basic training each year at Fort Jackson in South Carolina, the largest and most active Initial Entry Training Center in the U.S. Army. After his honorable discharge, Cliff trained in construction—even earning a certificate in asbestos removal. Prior to 2000, he operated his own painting and residential contracting business in Indianapolis.

But the recession of 2000 dried up his residential contracts. His business never recovered. Moreover, pressures from outstanding debt and unresolved personal problems eventually caused him to lose everything. Without a job or support system, in 2009 he found himself alone, on the street and homeless—a personal disaster he had never before experienced. He wanted off the streets and felt that he had but one choice—a homeless shelter. So he sought refuge at Wheeler Mission. This was only temporary. He knew that. But he couldn’t see a more permanent solution. He felt that his life was spiraling out of control. He was crashing, and he didn’t know what he could do to fix what had gone wrong.

During the first few days at Wheeler, Cliff heard about the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP), a source for comprehensive veterans’ services operated through the Homeless Initiative Program (HIP)—a HealthNet community outreach. He applied for assistance at the HIP offices (1835 North Meridian), and HVRP staff professionals assessed his employment history and education. HVRP aided him to identify personally meaningful career goals and to create a rational action plan to achieve them.

The first step in that plan was the HVRP “Skills That Work” employment workshop.  Cliff was uncertain about taking the workshop initially. “I needed a job,” he thought, “not a workshop about getting one.” But after the first day, Cliff could see how the workshop would help him. Within a week, he had created a professional resume and had developed effective job-search strategies and interviewing skills. Upon graduation, he was ready for the HVRP Guided Job Search program, where he used his new resume and job search skills to make employer contact and to set up job interviews. In less than two weeks, his resume had earned him an interview with an employer. That interview landed him a job. Today he is a supervisor, directing the security staff of a well-known city hotel.

“I have come a long way”, Cliff says. “What I have succeeded in doing through the Homeless Initiative Program is unbelievable. I never thought I could have accomplished what I have accomplished—and done it so quickly. I now own a new vehicle and am about to receive another promotion. That’s quite a distance from where I started. What HVRP and HIP have helped me to do is like a dream. It has changed my life. I appreciate you all. I really mean that. Thank you.”

The role HIP and HVRP played in helping Cliff achieve his career and housing goals makes our city a better place in which to live and work. Cliff’s achievements, consequently, symbolize what makes all of HealthNet’s community outreach programs so meaningful and important. It is simply the mission to which each member of HealthNet’s staff is committed—to build a better community one life at a time.

–David Richardson, HVRP Employment Coordinator

 

DISCLAIMER:  Preparation of this item was funded by the United States Department of Labor under Grant No. E-9-5-6-0037-H2.  This document does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U. S. Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U. S. Government.