Better Work Providing On-Site Unemployment Assistance

by Kristin Baker | Jun 6, 2022

Better Work Providing On-Site Unemployment Assistance

Key Points

BETTER WORK Columbus is launching a new service allowing us to assist clients on-site.
BETTER WORK provides connections to local resources and work opportunities.
Listening and responding to the needs of our community is how BETTER WORK better serves those in need.

Client assistance just got a little bit better

BETTER WORK Columbus is now able to assist clients on-site. We enjoy assisting our non-profit partners and helping them connect clients with employment. This is a new dimension of our work and is proving to be very helpful to non-profit organizations in Columbus and the surrounding area. Our non-profit partners who are focused on providing resources like housing, food, or assistance with utilities know that their clients also need the stability that comes with work. Meeting their clients on-site is a way for BETTER WORK to allow them to focus on their lane while we leverage our existing resources to help with the employment connection.

“Home for Good is partnering with BETTER WORK Columbus to help formerly homeless clients obtain and sustain employment so they can end their cycle of poverty,” said Terry Gallops, Home for Good Director. “Kristin Barker, BETTER WORK Program Manager, has been very successful in fulfilling this need by helping our clients as they complete applications and establish contact with potential employers. We are exceptionally pleased with the success of the BETTER WORK program, and several of our clients now have substantial employment!”

For Latesha, finding work was more than a paycheck. It helped her start a life journey that had meaning and purpose.

Meeting the need

Kristin recently shared why this is so important. “We enjoy meeting people where they are and where the need exists. It is in these spaces where we can learn more from each other and connect in new ways that will make all groups and all people in our community more successful. It’s a pleasure to help people like James who are looking for an opportunity to improve their lives by earning a steady income.”

If you are a non-profit and would like to take advantage of the support and tools that BETTER WORK has to offer, send an email to kristin.barker@georgiaopportunity.org and start a conversation today!

Jobs For Life Collaborates With BETTER WORK in Columbus

by Kristin Baker | May 31, 2022

Jobs For Life Collaborates With BETTER WORK in Columbus

A Partner For Life

Several of the Chattahoochee Valley Poverty Reduction Coalition (CVPRC) member organizations attended the May 26th Jobs for Life class to share information on resources and talk with students about overcoming the roadblocks they face. Some of the potential roadblocks discussed included mental and emotional health, childcare challenges, and needed education and training. This Community Resource panel was able to help students understand the steps they must take to overcome these challenges and others.

Responding to the needs in a community is paramount to our success.

Learn how our community partners stepped up to support the needs in Columbus through area-businesses.

Our Partners Matter

We would like to thank Candace Muncy (United Way-211), Dr. Asante Hilts (Columbus Health Department), and Jessica Neal (Goodwill) for attending as well as Jamie Thomas (Enrichment Services) and April Hopson (Columbus Technical College) for sending representatives on their behalf.

Our entire Jobs for Life team and students appreciate you!

Job for Life classes are successful because of our community partners and volunteers. If you are interested in learning more about these classes and getting involved, visit our website at https://betteropportunity.org/jobs-for-life/

BETTER WORK has changed Latesha’s and Shay’s lives forever

by Corey Burres | Feb 8, 2022

BETTER WORK has changed Latesha’s and Shay’s lives forever

A newly released video shares the impact of BETTER WORK with the world

For single mothers, Shay and Latesha, the effects of being trapped in the system meant that not only were they impacted but their kids were as well. Like most mothers, all they wanted for their kids was an opportunity to thrive and have a better life. But unlike many parents, the instability of work presented a sense of hopelessness that both Shay and Latesha struggled to overcome.

In 2020, the Atlas Network, an international organization that partners with over 500 think tanks around the world to remove barriers to opportunities; and empower individuals to live a life of choice came to Georgia to create a documentary on the Georgia Center for Opportunity. What they found was a program that was bringing dignity through work to a struggling community in Columbus, GA.

The moving story of Shay and Latesha overcoming adversity as they joined the Georgia Center for Opportunity’s groundbreaking BETTER WORK program (then titled Hiring Well, Doing Good) is a powerful one. It is one that both highlights the struggles many low-income mothers face, while showing an example of the dignity that can come out of programs that empower individuals.

“Dignity comes from us giving what we’ve been gifted with back to the world and figuring out our place in it,”

– Joyce Mayberry

Read The Full Story

BETTER WORK means a better opportunity

The BETTER WORK program started as a pilot program to help address the entire need of unemployed or underemployed individuals. Many people struggling and living on government assistance need a community to come around them to address immediate needs as well as vocational needs. BETTER WORK is designed to do just that. It is a program that brings together local resources through non-profits and businesses. Through mentorship and community, BETTER WORK is helping get individuals in sustainable and rewarding work.

Shay and Latesha’s story is just one example of how something as simple as work, can lead to a thriving and hopeful future for an entire family. It is why work is more than just a job to those in need. It provides hope, dignity and a sense of purpose.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity is proud to have been able to share this story and thankful to the Atlas Network for making sure the world sees it.

Training Success at Open Door Community House

by Kristin Baker | Jan 3, 2022

Training Success at Open Door Community House

A focus on the contributions of the African American family

BETTER WORK Columbus delivers Marketing Yourself training to clients of our non-profit partners upon request. This training gives students insight into the perspective of an employer and what matters to them during the hiring process. They leave this training more hopeful and with a new understanding of steps they can take to communicate well when they are looking for work. If you have clients who are preparing to look for better work opportunities in the Columbus area, they will benefit from this training. Send an email to kristin.barker@georgiaopportunity.org to schedule a training for your organization.

Barbara Moushon, Circles Coordinator at Open Door Community House shares below why this program is helpful to Circles Leaders in training.

“We are very grateful for the Marketing Yourself training brought to our Circles Group here at Open Door Community House. Our group was very engaged with this presentation and they appreciated the information Kristin and Inez shared. They are still talking about this training. The topic of ‘What Employers Want’ explained to our group why it is so important to stop and really reflect when preparing for an interview. This information explained that the interviewee needs to analyze why an employer would want to select them. The concept of knowing themselves and what they really want before going into an interview was a powerful message. Our clients understood that they need to spend a little time in self-reflection prior to seeking a job.” –Barbara Moushon

Finding Focus and Direction with Better Work

by Kristin Baker | Dec 27, 2021

Finding Focus and Direction with Better Work

Finding Skilled and Teachable Talent

BETTER WORK is helping our neighbors find better work opportunities in Columbus. We care about facilitating life transformation and not only an initial job connection. We want local families to thrive, become self-sufficient, and find the dignity that comes from sustainable work. Good relationships play a huge role in this process. This is why open doors of opportunity and mentors are so important.

I want to share a story with you. This is the story of a young woman who was unsure of what she wanted to do. Rachel Guzman first reached out to BETTER WORK because she knew she wanted more, only she wasn’t sure what more was.

Today Rachel has greater focus and is finding her success! All she needed was others who believed in her to clear the way. She is performing well in a Graphic Design internship with Alexis M. Creative. Owner Alexis Lott recently shared the statement below.

“Finding Rachel and having her as a virtual digital assistant this year has changed my business for the better. Being a small business owner trying to run my digital marketing and coaching business by myself was exhausting. I knew that I had to make a move, and I was initially scared to hire someone as an intern, and finding Rachel was a true god-send. She graciously decided to work as an intern and within months I was able to hire her on a contract basis to help with my digital marketing needs.”

“Finding Rachel and having her as a virtual digital assistant this year has changed my business for the better. Being a small business owner trying to run my digital marketing and coaching business by myself was exhausting. I knew that I had to make a move, and I was initially scared to hire someone as an intern, and finding Rachel was a true god-send. She graciously decided to work as an intern and within months I was able to hire her on a contract basis to help with my digital marketing needs.”

“I would love to have her full time hopefully in 2022 as my business expands. I am forever grateful to you (BETTER WORK Columbus) for helping me find skilled and teachable talent!”

Rachel has also been working with her mentor, Renee Lambert. Renee works with Rachel to help her overcome obstacles like insufficient transportation and is helping Rachel as she considers her long-term goals and short-term options to reach those goals. Rachel shared early on that she feels hopeful because of the support she receives from Renee. These obstacles may limit Rachel’s work options right now, but they aren’t slowing her down.

Rachel recently stated how much the internship means to her when she shared, “My internship at Alexis M. Creative Agency has been a great learning experience. To me, it’s not just an internship but an opportunity to learn and grow as a freelancer and entrepreneur.”

Candidates like Rachel Guzman have more hope because of partners like you. Whether you are an employer opening your door to give people second chances, a service provider offering needed resources, or a mentor cheering someone along their journey, your impact changes lives through BETTER WORK Columbus.

The Power of Community Connections

by Kristin Baker | Dec 20, 2021

The Power of Community Connections

A belief in working together is key

BETTER WORK Columbus is connected with groups and organizations across the Chattahoochee Valley. These groups include both the Chattahoochee Valley Poverty Reduction Coalition (CVPRC) and the Mayor’s Commission on Reentry. A belief in working together in the local community as the key to eliminating poverty in our city is the common thread binding these groups together. More specifically, the CVPRC holds a shared vision to reduce the poverty rate in the Chattahoochee Valley by 50% over the next 10 years.

BETTER WORK Program Manager, Kristin Barker, plays a leadership role in both of these groups. As forthcoming chair of the Reentry Commission, she works to identify key people in our community and bring them together to address the needs and concerns that impact individuals who are justice-involved. This is necessary to further the mission of preventing recidivism by strengthening cooperation and collaboration between law enforcement agencies, corrections and supervision entities, resource agencies, social service and non-profit organizations, faith-based non-profit organizations, community members, and other private and public stakeholders. Embedded in the group’s purpose is a focus on finding key people in the community and bringing them together to address the needs and concerns that impact individuals who are justice-involved.

The Success Sequence provides an outline of how to reverse the cycle of poverty in our communities. GCO uses this as a framework for much of our work.

Local Connections and National Partnerships

It is these local connections and national partnerships like Jobs for Life that will allow Columbus to discover the high-impact strategies needed to support families in poverty and connect them with resources that will move them toward self-sufficiency.

Find more information about the Chattahoochee Valley Poverty Reduction Coalition and the Mayor’s Commission on Reentry online.