When career coach Olivia first began working with her client Jemara, missed texts, calls and appointments were the norm.
“For lack of a better term, she seemingly lacked drive. We’d talk to her, but she’d be blasé and push us away,” said Olivia. On top of navigating her life after reentry and applying for jobs, Jemara also struggled with finding housing.
However, Olivia was determined to support Jemara. Diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD when she was young, Olivia is familiar with the challenges that come with facing adversity—whether it be through medical conditions like hers, or through previous legal system involvement like her program participants.
Olivia focused on supporting Jemara, listening to her challenges empathetically. Olivia’s persistence led to a breakthrough in the form of a few difficult and candid conversations about life and what the future could hold.
“After that, it’s like a switch inside her flipped,” Olivia said. “She was here every day, she got a job with UPS, and I helped her apply to Jefferson Community & Technical College to pursue a nursing career.”
A holistic framework for second chances
Olivia has since been promoted to senior career coach at The Spot: Young Adult Opportunity Center – a partnership between KentuckianaWorks and the Goodwill Industries of Kentucky that operates as a hub for free career and educational resources for young adults in Louisville, Kentucky.
KentuckianaWorks is also a partner of the Compass Rose Collaborative, a partner network funded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Growth Opportunities grant and managed by FHI 360’s National Institute for Work and Learning. Through the Institute, FHI 360 provides partners like The Spot coaching and guidance and facilitates staff participation in professional development activities.
“We strive to give our partners quick and accurate guidance along with individualized coaching to strengthen their programs,” says Adrienne Eagan, an FHI 360 technical advisor and project manager for the Compass Rose Collaborative. “This in turn maximizes the service we are providing to our program participants.”
Like the other partner organizations in the Compass Rose Collaborative, The Spot operates within a holistic framework, tailoring services to their participants’ needs. At The Spot, the first step is to identify participants’ personal challenges, such as homelessness, unemployment, or previous legal system involvement, in order to find ways to best address them.
Once they address these barriers, the participants are taught soft skills such as team building, conflict resolution, and self-presentation. It is only when they’ve gained proficiency in these essential, personal skills that they get on the route towards career exploration and training – often involving resume writing, mock interviews, work experience, skills training, education, and even internships
“We strive to give our partners quick and accurate guidance along with individualized coaching to strengthen their programs.”
Adrienne Eagan, an FHI 360 technical advisor at the Compass Rose Collaborative
Employment pathways through internships
In addition to providing personal development and career training, The Spot offers its participants internships through the Growth Opportunities grant. The internships allow participants who have been involved with the legal system to showcase their skills, professionalism, and diligence to employers before a background check could discourage them from pursuing opportunities.
The Spot’s close relationship with many Louisville employers has led to a lot of trust that their interns are reliable. “They would hire them because they knew they could rely on them,” Olivia said. Most participants, Olivia reported, remained with those employers even after completing their program.
Granting participants 200 hours of work experience and $15-an-hour wages is a central element of their Growth Opportunities grant programs.
“They have that income immediately. That’s incredible. Not a lot of places in this area are paying you $15 an hour starting out. Pairing that with 200 hours to prove yourself as a consistent worker is huge,” said Olivia.
Sustainable and effective
Job fairs, career coaching, cash incentives, paid internships, work training and more have built The Spot’s reputation as a go-to resource for young adults in Louisville looking to find employment.
“A lot of our enrollments come from word of mouth. It’s a great opportunity. While some only start out to earn money, they end up with much more than that.” Olivia explained that participants often overcome challenges such as homelessness and mental health – and make the most of their second chance. From there, most participants gain more than a job that just pays the bills. They earn full-time employment — the first step to a successful career and becoming a thriving member of their community.
With internships and full-time employment comes stability, purpose and hope, not just for the individual but also through the local economies that benefit. Today, Jemara is proof of that. She has her own apartment, remains employed with UPS, and has been getting great grades as she pursues a nursing degree. “The reason we do this is to see that progress. It’s been amazing to watch her grow,” Olivia said.
“The reason we do this is to see that progress. It’s been amazing to watch her grow,”
Olivia Murphy, Senior Career Coach at The Spot
For more information about The Spot, please visit https://www.thespotky.org. To learn more about the Compass Rose Collaborative, please read our fact sheet.
The Compass Rose Collaborative (CRC/GO1) is supported by the Employment Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor as part of an award totaling $4 million with 0% financed from non-governmental sources.