survival strategy

After two months of unemployment, an eviction notice, and the loss of 15 pounds from want of food, Juan (one of our JobLink customers) landed an interview with a retailer at Valley Fair mall.

At 22 years old, Jaun had already lived a difficult and desperate existence. He had been in and out of eight foster homes and group facilities, had been incarcerated for a year, had been homeless for about the same length of time, and had become entangled in a life of gang activity. He had slept on busses, in bus stops, on rooftops, and had even paid people $20 per week to sleep in their parked cars at night. At 22, he knew of no relatives, biological or otherwise. He had no memories of brothers or sisters, father or mother.

But only some of his life's madness was now behind him. He had been in his own apartment fora mere 18 months when he lost his first real job; he had worked caring for the elderly in their own homes--bathing them, brushing their hair, listening to their stories--until there just weren't enough clients to keep him employed. Now he held onto his place by borrowing money from anyone and everyone, including strangers on the street. He needed a job and worked hard to make an interview happen--he honed his resume, completed on-line applications, got the proper documents in order, and persisted in following up on every lead. But an hour before his interview--the first interview in two months of trying--he had the sudden realization that his exposed tattoos would be a liability.

Making this judgement, Juan began asking for money in the mall--panhandling. He stood by the food court and asked each passerby for a dollar. After having raised $8, the security guards arrived and told him to stop. With the $8 in his pocket he searched for, found, and bought a long sleeve shirt off the sale rack--and made it on time to the interview.

With his tattoos covered, he went through with a very successful meeting, duly impressing the store manager: he begins work on May 16th.

Alone.


-Todd Madigan