Moving Toward a Career in Jacksonville
A year can make a huge difference. Just over a year ago, 23-year-old Javier’s life was in crisis. His family was in turmoil. His mother was facing serious health problems which tore at the family’s finances. Unsure where to turn, Javier found a caring local ministry, which partners with Here’s Life Inner City, to obtain food to feed the family.
His contact with the ministry began to open new doors for Javier. He was encouraged to participate in the WorkNet career development training program, led by two Here’s Life staff. The WorkNet program is the most recent expansion of Here’s Life Inner City career development emphasis.
Because of WorkNet, Javier was able to pinpoint his individual barriers to employment success and learn to overcome them. He says enthusiastically, "The teachers were so encouraging. They showed me things I’d never realized before. They helped me understand how to present myself properly, on the phone and in an interview. They gave me hope and encouraged me to keep going even when it was hard."
Also because of Javier’s ongoing contact with the ministry, he received Christ as his Savior and began to grow in his faith. Recently Ben, our Here’s Life Inner City director, saw Javier and said, "He is calm, assured, and has kept his job for six months. He has earned more responsibility and is clearly growing in the Lord. He is a changed man!"
Over a decade of front-line research has gone into the development of the WorkNet model of career development/job placement for the difficult-to-place. It has a proven success rate with people in transition from homelessness, addiction, incarceration, welfare dependence, domestic violence, and other difficulties.
By God’s grace, this program helped Javier discover his dream job, identify an entry-level job he was qualified to do today, and design a career path moving him toward his long-term goals.