CommuniTree interns Angelo Alvelo (l) and Justin Quninones (r)
pictured at a
rooftop garden they helped create on the 16th floor
of the Trump Tower in Chicago
The following video, NIEHS Worker Education and Training Program Recovery Act Successes, highlights the NIEHS Worker Education and Training Program (WETP) and a number of the WETP programs, including OAI’s two programs funded with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds it received.
Justin has come a long way from the days when he thought the only way to make money was to sell drugs or physically assault someone and take their possessions. A few years ago, Justin chose the latter and ended up in prison charged with armed robbery.
Luckily for Justin he was selected for an internal work release program, where he worked on a farm learning how to grow food and take care of plants. This experience had a profound effect on Justin and sparked an interest which would eventually change his life. Following his release in 2008 Justin looked for employment, but with no success. He finally found a training program, offered by Association House in Chicago that allowed him to work on his past thought and behavior patterns. While attending a session on moral cognitive therapy, Justin learned about a job opportunity with CommuniTree – an urban agroforestry project operated by Cob Connection in partnership with OAI.
At the end of 2009, Justin was invited to Try-Outs to compete for a position with Cob Connection to work on the CommuniTree project. Try-Outs is a competitive process during which applicants are evaluated based on skills testing, observed interactions with others during team exercises and demonstrated motivation to complete assigned tasks. The process was very competitive but the evaluators saw the tenacity and enthusiasm Justin displayed and he was selected as a member of the CommuniTree team beginning in January, 2010.
This was Justin’s opportunity to show his commitment to creating a different
life for himself than the one he lived before prison. That’s all it took.
Since January, with the help of JTED funded on the job training, Justin has
excelled and gained skills in:
Justin, along with four other CommuniTree team members, has also become an environmental steward in his community on Chicago’s west side, conducting informational sessions to other community residents on the benefits of locally grown food and planting trees.
After demonstrating skill gains and an ability to supervise others, Justin and his four CommuniTree colleagues were given promotions to become crew leaders to supervise a new cohort of interns at the beginning of the growing season. They were each in charge of 10 other interns and were given a pay increase in acknowledgement of their increased skills and responsibilities.
Justin has also learned to carry out tasks independently while also being able to delegate to others when necessary. As an example of his resilience and sound judgment, Justin - who had to leave his home while working on the CommuniTree project – found himself homeless for a short period at the beginning of the year. Rather than going back to the streets, Justin reached out to his new network for help and, with a sense of empowerment, found himself an apartment to move into.
Today, Justin is still living in that apartment, is engaged, and grows great vegetables like no one else. Justin also wants to start his own farming business after he leaves Cob Connection. Thanks to the skills and confidence he has gained through working at Cob Connection, we have no doubt that Justin will make that dream happen.
Congratulations to the 2010 graduates of the Chicago Southland YouthBuild (CSYB) program! 28 students completed the program on June 30, 2010 and are moving on to various employment and post secondary education opportunities.
This was OAI’s first 9-month CSYB program cycle and we are pleased to report that we achieved a 90% retention rate. So far 7 students have successfully earned their General Education Diploma (GED) and many more are awaiting test results in July and August.
One significant positive outcome was John Nettles earning a two-year full scholarship to South Suburban College in the Building Construction Technology Department. John demonstrated his work ethic and commitment to excellence throughout the year, which led to his nomination by the South Suburban College staff for this award.
OAI is particularly grateful to our many partners for making this program a resounding success. They include: Enrollment and Community Education Department at South Suburban College, Building Construction Technology Department at South Suburban College, Business & Career Institute at South Suburban College, Dr. Theresa Dixon of the Gloria J. Taylor Foundation, the Bethlehem Temple Church & Community Development Corporation, Habitat for Humanity of the Chicago South Suburbs and the Chicago Wisdom Project as well as a number of instructors and volunteers.
The CSYB program recruits and trains at-risk young adults living in south Cook County communities-- Harvey, Riverdale, Blue Island, Dixmoor, Dolton, Calumet Park, Robbins, and Chicago’s 9th and 34th Wards. In this 9-month program, people ages 18–24 work toward their GED while learning job skills by building affordable housing for low-income people. Strong emphasis is placed on leadership development, community service and environmental literacy.
The students developed a video project titled “I AM” during Theodore Richard’s Chicago Wisdom Project Class. The video can be viewed below.
We currently are recruiting for the upcoming 2010/2011 CSYB program. Please call the Harvey office at: (708) 339-8173 today to reserve your space in an upcoming program Orientation session. Don’t wait, slots are filling up quickly and recruitment will end August 20, 2010!
The best way to determine how far you have travelled is to know where your journey started. For Levi Pearson, his journey started with sporadic employment, a lack of marketable skills and plenty of self-doubt. Although difficult and plagued with disappointments and doubt, his journey to self-reliance gave him the strength and confidence to create a better future for himself.
For almost a decade Levi had gone from job to job, never really settling into a preference or career choice. With his work history indicating a lack of stability or direction, he found it increasingly difficult to secure employment. With fewer employment prospects and a bleak economy tilting toward double-digit unemployment, Levi decided to combat his personal unemployment crisis by acquiring new skills and enrolling in a job training program.
Levi applied for and was selected into the Greencorps Chicago program in 2008. While a participant in the Greencorps program, he acquired the marketable skills and confidence necessary to successfully compete in today’s highly competitive job market. With a relentless commitment, he learned and absorbed all he could from the Greencorps and OAI staff and instructors. Armed with renewed purpose, confidence and skills, Levi transitioned from unemployment to employment.
Presently working for ABM, one of the country’s leading facility services contractors, as a building/facility maintenance worker is just the beginning for Levi. He believes his Greencorps and OAI training started him on a new journey that can only take him to bigger and better things.
As a participant in the Greencorps Chicago program, Harith Goodwin stood out as an articulate, intelligent and personable trainee. His fellow Greencorps Chicago trainees valued his opinion and trusted his leadership. As a result, he was promoted to crew leader and maintained this position throughout the program.
Harith is a natural leader and his work ethic is unquestioned. While enrolled in Greencorps Chicago, he took full advantage of all the program had to offer in terms of technical skills training and work experience. Training in weatherization and environmental health and safety prepared him for an excellent employment opportunity that would have been out of his reach if not for his participation in Greencorps Chicago.
Today Harith Goodwin works as an assessor and inspector for the Community and Economic Development Association of Illinois, Inc. (CEDA), one of the largest private non-profit organizations in the United States. His position is directly related to his training at Greencorps and a testament to his and Greencorps Chicago’s commitment to improving the quality of life of trainees.
Lorenzo Dunn was released from federal prison in May of 2008. Mr. Dunn was incarcerated for numerous drug offenses, but decided at the time of his release that he was ready for a life change. He came to OAI, Inc. and tested for the MWT Program in August 2008. After going through the intensive selection process, he was selected to participate in the MWT program. Mr. Dunn was an exemplary trainee who later extended his training to include weatherization and insulation through one of OAI, Inc’s partner employers, W&M Insulation.
W&M hired Mr. Dunn as a weatherization laborer, where he proved himself to be a reliable, driven employee. Within a few months of joining W&M, Mr. Dunn started his own company and worked as a subcontractor for W&M Insulation performing weatherization and abatement services.
Mr. Dunn is currently the co-owner of GPP & Son Energy Services where he provides weatherization services throughout Cook County.