Job Coaching

Location: Open Door Shelter

Date: Monday, November 12, 2012; 6:45-8:30 pm

The banner says it all

Having done the Mock Interview project and enjoyed the experience, I was eager to do this one as well.  Chicago Cares website has the following description regarding the program: ‘OpenDoor Shelter, a program of The Night Ministry, is a temporary shelter for youth who may have been exposed to serious life circumstances.  While staying at the shelter, youth work with staff to secure permanent housing, employment and medical care.  Chicago Cares runs a mandatory job coaching program for the youth every other week.  Volunteers work with youth in small groups or with one-on-one activities focused on finding and applying for jobs, interviewing skills, appropriate on-the-job behavior, and more.’ 

I arrived there and met Bridgette, our volunteer leader.  We discussed my volunteer session with the Mock Interviews and she mentioned that I would find this to be a very different experience.  While my earlier event was for men who wanted to get back to work, this is a mandatory program for young boys and girls who may not want to do this in the first place.  The Open Door Shelter provides temporary housing for the troubled and impoverished youth, but there are certain expectations placed upon them.  Not only are they required to perform daily chores, but they also have to make an effort toward pursuing some education of finding a job.  Their room and board is meant to be temporary and every effort is made to get these kids to be independent.  This job coaching program was a part of this requirement and a thing which some viewed as a task to be done.  So to get them excited, even involved, was going to be a challenge.

Once all of us had gathered, we were taken up to the community area on the first floor, where a dozen or so boys and girls had assembled.  All of them were African-American teenagers.  Their body language suggested that they were not looking forward to this, and hardly anyone responded when Bridgette asked them to come and sit around a table so that we could get underway.  An admonishment from one of the workers at ODS send them our way and all of us sat down. 

First up was introductions and what we did, or wished to do.  While some kids had vague answers, I was pleasantly surprised to hear some answers, where the kids seemed to have a plan.  Especially heartening was to listen to a boy named Dion, who wanted to become a writer.  I would have never expected someone in this situation to say that, but something about Dion made me believe him.  We then split into groups where each volunteer was paired with one or two of the kids.  I was going to work with Shawn, a young man who had said that he wanted to work in an area which would allow him to learn how to fix things, particularly electronics following which he wanted to go into game designing.  I started counseling him and asked him to draw his career path on a timeline.  We discussed where he wanted to be in 5 years and started putting some interim objectives on paper.  The best part of all of this was his engagement in this process.  He was listening to me and asking the right questions.  I was very impressed by his attitude and as we finished our session, I wished him all the success and asked him to continue working towards his goal.

One of the volunteers next to me was working with a girl and spotted another one who was sitting by herself in the corner.  She had been aloof all evening and has refused to participate in any activity, right from the beginning.  Not only had my fellow volunteer managed to get her to come join his session, but towards the end, this girl was actively discussing her career goals with him.  A doctor in training, I told him that what he had managed to accomplish that evening would have made a counselor proud.

We left that evening hoping that the kids would have gained some insight from our experience and advice.  I certainly hope Shawn goes on to become a game designer.  I hope Dion goes on to become a famous writer.  But more than anything, I hope they enjoy the process of getting to their goals and this journey makes them wiser.  These are supposed to be the best days of their lives and I wish for them to have a chance at happiness, a chance at success.  Circumstances have led them to ODS, but it is up to them to leave this life behind.  And its up to us to nudge them in the right direction.  


*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy