We can all be part of the solution

I have been thinking a lot about the disconnect between individuals who need help and those who have the ability to provide help. I have encountered many individuals who desire to help those in need who feel ill prepared for the work. Individuals who have the heart to serve but feel they do not know where to start.

I had an interaction a couple of weeks ago which I feel will shed some light on what is needed to help the broken and hurting in our community.

About four weeks ago, a graduate from our Momentum program stopped by the office. This individual had completed the program last fall, almost 6 months ago.

For those who do not know the Momentum program, it is a 6-week workforce development program, which requires participants to complete 100 hours of classroom training and 100 hours of community volunteer hours. On top of this, each participant is paired with a caring coach/mentor for 6 months; each participant receives extensive case management support, barrier remediation assistance, transportation assistance, job placement and on-going job support assistance. This is a heavy-duty program that works to rehabilitate individuals, allowing them to pursue their dreams and live up to their potential. It is staffed by skilled and caring professionals, it is designed by individuals with years of experience in assisting the marginalized members of our community. In other words, the people serving in this program have the training and skills society says that you need in order to help.

With all this in mind, I asked this graduate what was the most impactful part of the experience for her. Keep in mind that she completed the training, landed a good job, and her life has been stabilized through the program. She said that she loved the training, the instructors were impactful, and she loves her job. However, as many of our graduates do, she started to tell me a story to explain things, and her response floored me. She told of her first job interview after graduating Momentum, how nervous she was yet she also felt hope again. Hope for her future and her family. As she is telling me all this a smile is stretching across her face, this is hope. I was sitting back feeling pretty good about the programming we have here, and feeling really proud of my staff, then this wonderful graduate dropped a bomb on me. She said, “The most impactful thing that happened to me, was the fact that when I walked out of my interview I had a text message from my coach that said, ‘how did it go’, my coach remembered about my interview and was checking in to see if it went well”. WHAT? That’s it? All of this careful planning, this careful execution of the program, and what impacted you was a text message?

There is a message in there for all of us. The programming helped, the planning and care did not fall on deaf ears, yet she was longing for connection. She wanted to know someone cared enough about her to remember what was going on in her life. She needed to know she was worth enough to be pursued, to be remembered, and she was valuable enough to be worth our time.

This is not an action that requires years of school or experience. This is not a skill that only a few have. We all have the ability to develop relationships, to be a friend, to remember what’s going on in someone’s life.

The next time you want to help but feel inadequate or ill prepared, remember you have everything someone else is desperate to receive.

Luke Kujacznski