CTI Secure Jobs Initiative families

In the public and nonprofit sectors, aid to those without jobs and to those who are homeless are typically provided by separate agencies with little coordination. But in reality, joblessness is one of the leading causes of homelessness so it stands to reason that helping formerly homeless people get and keep jobs should be an effective way to reduce homelessness. Community Teamwork (CTI) had taken just that approach in a partnership with the Paul and Phyllis Fireman Foundation by launching a program called the Secure Jobs Initiative.

This past Tuesday night, CTI honored its first group of Secure Jobs Initiative families at the Tsongas Industrial History Center in the Boott Cotton Mills Museum. CTI Executive Director Karen Frederick, Associate Executive Director Connie Martin, Secure Jobs Director JoAnne Howell and Susan Beaton representing the Paul and Phyllis Fireman Foundation addressed the graduates with words of praise and support.

More than seventy formerly homeless families have used the Initiative’s housing, education, skills training, childcare, case management and transportation services to help establish financial and family stability. A new group of 100 families will soon begin the program which will now be funded by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. A number of the recent graduates will continue to be involved with the program by mentoring the new families who are starting their journey to becoming employed and removing the barriers to their economic stability and success.