Can the country’s biggest domestic violence transitional housing provider, Urban Resource Institute (URI), create a shelter-to-workforce pipeline in New York City?
The organization rolled out an Economic Empowerment Program (EEP) in the Big Apple in 2018, which now serves 24 shelters. More than 90% of participants are Black and Brown women. Olga Loaiza, who directs career exploration in the program, says helping shelter residents find employment often starts at the ground level with addressing résume gaps and running credit checks. Many also needed childcare to begin or return to working.
“In my department, our goal is to not only provide [safe] shelter placement for our clients, but also to provide empowerment,” said Loaiza. “We want the participant that comes to EEP to feel empowered so we can help reduce the barriers that they have (and) move ahead. We want them to be stable. We want them to have the financial freedom that they need, and also to be safe.”
The program pairs participating shelter residents with a financial specialist who helps them chart their short- and long-term career goals. The eight-week workshops go over writing cover letters, crafting résumes, and conflict resolution. Then, participants are placed in paid internships with one of the more than 65 employers that the program has partnered with, for at least $20 an hour for up to 15 hours a week.
A wide range of backgrounds means different needs. Most participants have a high school diploma but some have graduate degrees. Domestic violence “doesn’t have a face, homelessness doesn’t have a face, so that’s a myth,” said Loaiza. “Most of our clients that come into our programs, they want better in life. They want stability. They want freedom. They want independence.”
A previous participant, whose identity was kept anonymous due to shelter privacy policies, provided a quote about their time in the program: “This program did help me,” they said. “It helped me with building my confidence in speaking out. And as I always say, ‘closed mouths don’t get fed.’ I want to say thank you to these beautiful ladies that I’m seeing here today. Your next step, your next journey — do not forget the beginning and enjoy every step of it.”
Author’s Note: Story has been updated to remove an editing error and correct the anonymous participant’s status as previous rather than current.
