While other
service providers address very specified needs, the Back to Basics program
strives to engage the whole person and to impart a sense of community, and the
sense of personal dignity that comes with that engagement.
Back to Basics is designed for individuals who have had difficulty with sustainable long-term
employment; the reasons are as varied as the people we serve. Typically, the
situation they are in when they begin the program is a result of poor interview
skills, lack of employment skills, poor co-worker relations, poor employer
relations, lack of customer service skills and/or general behavioral issues.
Back to Basics
participants agree to work with case managers and staff in a variety of
positions. They learn through personal evaluation and critique, life skills
workshops, and employment training. Staff also works with clients to develop
personal responsibility and accountability.
Initially,
Back to Basics participants perform tasks at the facility where they are closely supervised by
staff. When an individual has consistently met behavior, work quality, and
attitude standards, they may then participate in outside community work,
although still under very close staff supervision. Participants are evaluated
for suitability for employment with the contracted jobs, and may eventually
participate in the paid work crew, which is Stage Three of the
Back to Basics program. Work
crew members receive a stipend for their participation. It is from that crew
that some individuals are recruited for employment by businesses in the
community, or the experience becomes an employment reference that can be used
when applying for jobs. The process is designed to build self-esteem, to allow
participants to earn the dignity that comes from a job well done, and to nurture
and reinforce the positive behaviors needed to sustain employment. Participants
enjoy one-on-one assistance as they work to enter or re-enter the work force and
eventually are able to sustain long-term employment and stable housing.
Essential services remain available as long as any participant needs those
services as they pursue full self-sufficiency.
Many graduates
of the
Back to Basics program are currently employed by local businesses in Arcata, Trinidad
and Eureka. Case managers’ follow-up with employers when support or additional
general employment skills are necessary. We have recently hired Mary Donahue as
Volunteer Coordinator to oversee the program.
The Back to Basics program is well on its way to becoming a financially self-sustaining
program. Contracts with the City of Trinidad, the community of McKinleyville,
the County of Humboldt and with major event organizers throughout the county,
have the Back to Basics work crew busy well into the beginning months of 2009.
It is projected that with continued successes, both personal successes for the
individual participants, and among the community as the good work and work
behaviors are demonstrated through the various projects, this program will be
both financially sustaining, and serve as a model for other communities as they
learn to engage those among their populations that have been previously shunned.
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· Employers
can find day laborers for general labor tasks.
· Event
promoters can count on us to help set up and breakdown down events.
· Trainees
learn necessary skills for sustainable employment
· Trainees
learn how to have healthy relationships with co- workers
· We provide
case management support for trainees newly hired in the community.
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