'Work is Worship'
April 29, 2008

Faith-based job training finds Hopkinsville home
Kentucky New Era - Hopkinsville, KY

By Joe Parrino, New Era Staff Writer

The middle-aged man who lost good jobs because of a drug habit. The mother who is worried she has been setting a bad example for her children. The younger man who lost hope for his future after spending a year behind bars.

Since March, these three along with other unemployed in Hopkinsville have attended a new job training class hosted by Challenge House 1. The faith-based vocational program called Jobs for Life has spread to more than 30 states and recently made its local debut.

Gary Adams, the YMCA’s director of operations, teaches a Jobs for Life class at Challenge House 1, a once dilapidated house that was remodeled to accommodate needs in the Durrett Avenue neighborhood. Adams and YMCA outreach director Aida Vega surveyed surrounding residents and found the number one need was jobs.

Adams said he brought Jobs for Life to Hopkinsville to help the out-of-work into stable, satisfying jobs. But as a devoted Christian, Adams’s ultimate goal is to foster “a hunger and relationship with the Lord.”

“Work is worship,” Adams said.

A second Jobs for Life class is led by TRAD Inc. Human Resources Manager Phil Dunn at the Christian County Jail. In his line of work, Dunn often sees a lack of interview preparation, punctuality, teamwork and other basic employment skills.

“It’s difficult for us to teach these skills on the job,” Dunn said.

Jobs for Life began in Hopkinsville — as in other communities — through the cooperation of businesses and faith-based organizations. Members of the Southside Church of Christ help Dunn with the course. The YMCA’s course is supported by Ebonite International, Propulsys and other local employers.

The original Jobs for Life program began in 1996 in Raleigh, N.C., where church and business leaders joined forces to fight rampant unemployment in the inner-city with a free training in workplace skills and ethics.

The program thrived in Raleigh and other communities, Adams said, because it changed thought patterns and attitudes at the root of unemployment.

“We change the inward man so that the thinking and the outward man and the actions that follow would be positive,” Adams said.

Marcus Bussell, 23, said his self-confidence has climbed since the class kicked off in March. He recently got hired on a construction job.

“Usually I (feel) like I can’t do nothing,” Bussell said. “But once I got here, I feel like I still got a chance in life.”

Bussell graduated from Hopkinsville High School in 2004 but soon stumbled. A drug-related felony sent him to jail for a year.

Bussell said he hoped to start fresh after his release. But whenever he filled out job application, employers seemed scared off by his criminal record. Bussell said his application has been turned down at many local businesses, including at fast food restaurants.

“(People) look at you different,” Bussell said.

Phil Dunn tells inmates that a felony can count against an application but it doesn’t disqualify candidate. Applicants who are up-front about their criminal record and who provide good references earn more credibility.

“If they are honest with us, we try to give them an opportunity to sell their skills,” Dunn said.

Many employers make distinctions between drug offenses and other crimes, Dunn said. The jail Jobs for Life class only admits inmates who are enrolled in a substance abuse recovery program.

Angelique Victor, 32, said she no longer hides her drug and criminal past. She checks the appropriate box on application forms.

“I’m not that same person no more,” Victor says. “That doesn’t define me.”

Victor hopes the new attitude she has acquired since enrolling in Jobs for Life will influence her children.

Because of her legal troubles and job frustrations, Victor gave up on career ambitions. She became a stay-at-home mother by default.

As her two children grew, Victor wondered whether her lack of employment was sending the wrong message.

“I want them to see everyone getting up early in the morning,” Victor said. “I’m trying to instill a work ethic in them.”

The Jobs for Life opportunity seemed to fall right into Victor’s lap. She lives across Central Avenue from Challenge House 1.

Victor said the course has pushed her to make her first resume.

Both Bussell and Victor say Jobs for Life has taught her the commitment expected of good employees. Trainees must complete all assignments including a vocational plan and a resume and have good attendance. Missing more than three classes is an automatic failure.

“If you can make it here, you can make it everywhere,” Bussell said.

Adams said his Jobs for Life class has a 50 percent attrition rate.

Frank Cherry, 57, stuck with the program because of its spiritual emphasis.

“It’s like a Bible study,” Cherry said.

Cherry says faith anchors his life. Drug addiction has cost him several jobs including a long-term position at Western State Hospital.

“I was living to use and using to live,” Cherry said.

Cherry was released from jail on Jan. 16, his fourth incarceration for drug-related crimes.

Cherry said his faith and Biblical teaching have kept him clean for 10 months.

The Jobs for Life curriculum draws extensively from the Bible. Adams tied his lesson about rebounding from failure to the life of King David.

From the time Adam and Eve were told to tend the Garden of Eden, God has used work to teach man obedience and true purpose, Adams said.

Adams said that his faith helped him rebuild his own career. In 1999, Adams was suspended from his athletic director position at Heritage Christian Academy because of a series of drunken driving arrest.

Adams says the shame and the grueling court process helped him understand how “beat down” some of his Jobs for Life students feel.

“I share my story with them because it gives me more credibility with them,” Adams said.

Both Adams and Dunn say they are committed to teach Jobs for Life long-term. One key to the success of the program is the interest of local businesses, Adams said.

Adams said some employers will visit the Challenge House class this week to hear Jobs for Life students share their experiences. The employers will help role play during a mock interview session.

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