Organizing Community Support


Needs

Families moving from welfare to work have expressed the need for more public awareness about avoiding stereotypes of welfare recipients. In contrast to the often negative stereotype of welfare recipients, participants emphasize that many welfare recipients are hard workers and have skills from previous experiences. Many participants also stress that they have become dependent on welfare due to circumstances beyond their control.

Concerns

When individuals and families face stereotypical attitudes, mistrust, and a lack of respect both in and out of the workplace, it is much harder for them to achieve success in their new jobs.

With multiple organizations, agencies, and groups willing to work on self-sufficiency and the local economy, it may be necessary to develop a total community plan. Otherwise there may be duplication of efforts and public confusion.

Community Response

Deciding who will facilitate this process and provide leadership is often the primary barrier. Just a few people talking with one another can get the process started.

Strategies

1. Organize a Community Steering Committee or Task Force

This approach has proven successful in many states and counties. The committee or task force can consist of employers, concerned citizens, or representatives from the following: social service agencies, Cooperative Extension, local schools, community colleges, technical schools, literary councils, the Employment Security Commission, ministerial associations, the county commission, Partnership for Children/Smart Start, Child Care Associations, service and nonprofit agencies, and organizations providing food, shelter, and clothing.

The groups purpose would be to help determine the needs and concerns of Work First participants in the community and to organize efforts to address those concerns, developing creative solutions for barriers to the successful employment of previous welfare recipients. The County Commissioners could charge the committee with oversight of community activities and support the recognition of program participants and faciliators. Discussion topics could include:

The committee should use focus groups or interviews to learn about the real needs of families, not the needs as perceived b external "judges." It will be helpful to promote community awareness of the strengths, needs, and diversity of welfare recipients so the public understands the challenges people face. A speakers bureau can help address the awareness.

2. Plan a Public Awareness Campaign

A public awareness campaign should have many activities associated with it. Use of the local paper, radio, posters, flyers, exhibits, fairs, and other means have proven successful in communities.

Community leaders can locate success stories to tell through the local paper, host radio programs with employers and employees, create informative flyers, and hold educational family events.

3. Employers Can Share Hiring Successes

Employers who hire previous welfare recipients can talk with other employers when they have success. Creating opportunities during employer breakfasts, Chamber of Commerce meetings, and other employer events adds to understanding. Employers who have had positive experiences hiring Work First participants can develop publicity pieces which describe both the participants unique strengths and the benefits of hiring participants in the program.

4. Work with Job Assistance Programs

Job Assistance programs help prepare people for a job search through skill and attitude assessment, career and personal counseling, motivation, and support services. Application competition, mock interviews, appearance, and work habits are important topics to address. The aim is self knowledge.

To evaluate: track participants by age, education, length of time unemployed, welfare status, family size, etc.; watch for changes in life style and education. Talk to participants at various times to assess changes in attitude.

5. Job Placement

Match job openings to job seekers, skills, and interests; actively develop new job openings in the local labor market and follow up on recent hires to assess successful transition into the work force. The JobLink Career Centers offer labor market information, access to career training, and job placement services.

To evaluate: measure the number of placements made, length of time on the job, and job retention (having 70% of the participants remain on the job for 90 days or more is a measure one organization used to evaluate success); use cost-benefit analysis to measure participants earnings against costs of the program.

6. Peer Support Groups

Bring unemployed people together for mutual support and networking as they search for jobs. They could meet regularly to share job leads and coping strategies and to build confidence. Some groups maintain a job bank. Effective support groups increase impact with consistent facilitation, a regular meeting time and location, as well as structured and unstructured time.

To evaluate: track weekly attendance progress (e.g., graduation to a job, improvement in self-esteem, success stories). A graduation rate of 30 to 40% is considered successful.

7. Youth Training.

Promote the school-to-work continuum, combining school instruction with on-the-job training for a particular job market or industry. Most successful programs negotiate with local business and industries to create youth skills partnerships and develop apprenticeship courses. Youth candidates should complete a job preparedness course, define career goals, and understand the world of work. Some programs run from 10th grade for 3 to 4 years. The Extension Career Smarts curriculum is an excellent resource available through the 4-H program.

To evaluate: measure youth gains in competency areas, expanded career awareness, participating business satisfaction, and youth empowerment.

8. Small Business Centers

For information and assistance, contact small business centers of the nearest Community College and the small business and technology development center with the nearest university in the University of North Carolina System.

9. Micro-Enterprise Development Assistance

A micro-enterprise is a small business with five or fewer employees,one of whom owns the enterprise. Support comes in the form of business training and financing.

Here is how it works. An organization mobilizes financial resources for a loan fund and raises donations to subsidize training, provide child care and transportation, and provide expertise for training. Self-selection is the best screening mechanism. The 3- to 6-month instruction includes small business management, accounting, marketing, organization, and production, as well as how to write a business plan. Peer support groups during training have been shown to be helpful. Mentoring is provided for at least a year after starting the business.

Business examples include child care, office or house cleaning, lawn care, auto repair, car detailing, pet sitting, clothing alterations, eldercare, and desktop publishing. The program establishes linkages with banks and other conventional lenders and can guarantee loans or set up a revolving loan fund.

To evaluate: track the number of people served and the number of jobs created; also, track those who did not start a business to find out why they did not do so.

10. Community Reinvestment

Local organizations or churches can use their networking abilities to assure that financial institutions offer credit to qualified low- and moderate-income people.

To evaluate: collect baseline data about categories of people on businesses-denied credit. Monitor progress in ease of securing credit.

11. Community Loan Program

Socially minded investors could contribute to a community loan pool. Repaid loans are recycled to similar borrowers (non-profits, worker cooperatives, low-income entrepreneurs); community loan funds are not government regulated.

To evaluate: The National Association of Community Development of Loan funds has established a peer review of standards and process.

12. North Carolina A&T State University

The North Carolina Cooperative Extension Program at North Carolina A&T has a program called Community Voices, which addresses leadership and community development issues. This program would be a useful resource for specifics in organizing communities. Contact: (336) 334-7956