Fortunately, some very kind folks at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Sycamore are more than willing to help.
The recent unemployment figures in DeKalb County are being reported at around 9.5 percent, an increase from about 6 percent last year, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
So the governing board of St. Peter’s simply saw a need within the community and decided to fill it.
A number of western Pennsylvania parishes experimented with this sort of approach during the Rustbelt downturn of the early 1980s (including the New Vineyards program, which helped unemployed workers in recession-hit areas to move to regions with better job opportunities – less prospect of that today, unfortunately). Moreover, Keith Ackerman and several other clergy helped broker arrangements that kept plants open in one-industry mill towns.
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In Houston a number of years ago, they had their own economic downturn. A group of unemployed Houstonians met every week at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in southwest Houston, and provided support, job exchange, tips and referrals to each other. Every time someone got a job there was much celebration. This group was called the “Power Brokers.” It did provide a much needed referral service and emotional uplift at the same time. We certainly felt we were doing the work God had called us to do and it was a wonderful experience for all of us.
Mhmac, not a bad idea. I’d like to see area churches start their own ‘help wanted’ sections in the bulletin each Sunday or on their website or on the bulletin board. That would help those of us looking for jobs with at least a part time position.
LIbrary Jim we found that at the very least it gave people some sense of purpose. You have to get up, get out of your bathrobe and be presentable at least once a week! The leadership of each meeting passed from person to person, a vital part of the program. Today I would guess that having a computer on site for folks, plus access to standard office equipment, copier, fax number, etc. would be most advantageous. As our list of “necessities” diminish on a diminished income, having access to wi-fi and those other conveniences could be a normal offering. Use those empty sunday school rooms for something useful monday to Friday!
And yes, we did run a kind of jobs listing, from people in the parish and other sources as we found them. We of course exchanged resumes, so if we saw something that matched other’s skills, we could refer them.
Know of any openings for an unemployed Reference Librarian? Email me off list if you do!
Jim
Sycamore may correctly be described as in Illinois, but it’s definitely not in (or even very near) Chicago.