JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For Cathy Wells, coming out of prison in the middle of 2020 after serving eight years on drug-related charges was an eye-opener – and not just because the country was in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime health crisis.
“I was like a child, at 65,” she says. “Due to the fact I was in so long, everything was new to me.”
Wells first stayed in a hotel on the north side of town, then got more permanent housing at Sulzbacher Village – part of an organization that provides shelter, health care and other services to homeless women in Jacksonville – and was able to use the transitional housing to get on her feet. She now has a permanent home and a car.
Sulzbacher also works closely with Goodwill Industries of North Florida in assisting people with employment. Wells began working at a Goodwill store in October of 2020, first as a temp and then in a full-time position performing a variety of jobs, including cashier.
“I am definitely blessed,” she says. “I have been able to stay on at Goodwill. It’s nice. I don’t have to look over my shoulder about my past.”
Most people are aware that Goodwill is a great place to recycle items no longer wanted or needed, so that what’s dropped off can be sold and gets a second chance to be put to good use.
Figurines sit on a shelf at a Goodwill store on Dunn Avenue in Jacksonville, Fla. Goodwill of North Florida serves people in 14 counties and in 2020 assisted 3,200 people in finding jobs.(Agnes Lopez for USN&WR)
Far fewer people, though, realize Goodwill also offers new chances for people. The international nonprofit’s bevy of local, autonomous organizations run retail stores and job centers that not only employ people in need of work or a step up in life, but provide a variety of training and assistance programs as well. They might help someone fresh out of prison or with a spotty work record – or just a person who needs to achieve that first step on the career ladder.
The help is especially valuable now – for employees and employers alike – as the economy grapples with the tightest labor market in modern history. With 10.9 million open jobs as of December and 6.5 million unemployed people in January, the search is on for every available applicant.
Founded in 1902 by a Methodist minister in Boston who collected used clothes and goods, then hired and trained people to repair them, Goodwill operates on the premise of providing “not charity, but a chance.”
That concept proved to be direly needed after the coronavirus struck. Millions lost their jobs in the early months of the pandemic in 2020, and the norms of the labor market were turned on their head. With businesses shuttered and people unable to go to work in person, the conventional channels for finding a job were not enough. At the same time, long-standing issues within the labor market – a mismatch between what companies wanted workers to do and what people were actually capable of doing or desired to do – were exacerbated.
The Goodwill network offers a variety of employment services, such as providing resume help, teaching interviewing skills and linking those seeking work with local employers. In the Jacksonville area, local Goodwill career centers – which are free and open to walk-ins or can be accessed online – have recently been retooled and branded as “GoodCareers” centers. These centers also feature a recruiter from Goodwill Temps, providing a pathway to immediate employment in a variety of Goodwill businesses as well as with other local employers.
Last May, as job losses had disproportionately affected women and people of color, Goodwill Industries International announced “Rising Together,” an initiative joining corporate leaders in health care, education, job search and transportation, including Anthem Foundation, Coursera, Indeed and Lyft.
A goal is to address social inequities that have been laid bare by the pandemic, providing access to sustainable careers for 1 million people by 2025.
“All jobs are local,” says Steve Preston, a former Fortune 500 executive who served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development and Small Business Administration chief under former President George W. Bush. Preston joined Goodwill Industries International as CEO in 2019, and says more than 2 million people turned to Goodwill for job support in 2020. “We need to be relevant for the employer population but also to the employee population.”
In Jacksonville, the home base for Goodwill of North Florida, that can mean finding people starter jobs at fast-food outlets or in the region’s growing health care industry, or more specialized work at companies such as aerospace manufacturer Northrop Grumman. The unemployment rate in the area soared to 11.5% early in the pandemic, but has since returned to a pre-pandemic level of 3.2%.
Goodwill of North Florida serves people in 14 counties and assisted 3,200 people in finding jobs in 2020. Last year, that number was more than 3,800.
“People can start in-house, then get promoted and in a couple of years, they’re employable anywhere else,” says David Rey, the organization’s CEO. “We’re typically above minimum wage. We have a number of business lines. We have a landscaping business which employs about 45 people, where they earn $13 to $15 an hour.”
One of Goodwill of North Florida’s initiatives is working with local health care organizations to help fill their needs for skilled medical assistants. Working with Goodwill and Florida State College at Jacksonville, Mary Pat Corrigan, chief health officer for Sulzbacher, developed a program to train disadvantaged people to become medical assistants.
“We wanted to remove all the barriers,” Corrigan says, adding the program is free and guarantees those who complete it employment at Sulzbacher or one of its partners.
“Medical assistants are very difficult to find,” she says. “The medical field is a great field to be in your whole life.”
Goodwill of North Florida also has helped provide educational and career services to younger people through its role as the lead agency for the local Take Stock in Children program. The program offers mentorships and other assistance to ensure kids do well in school; in 2021, 420 students were enrolled in the program and all were on track to graduate.
Another program, A-STEP, is focused on adult education, and helps prepare enrollees for careers in law enforcement; heating, ventilation and air conditioning; nursing; and other industries where workers are in high demand. To qualify, a person has to be at or below the national poverty level.
“That first semester going back (to school) is terrifying,” says Leah Lynch, chief mission officer for Goodwill of North Florida. “Where we fit in is becoming a bridge, especially for low-income families where there can be a lack of trust. It’s just knowing they can call someone at 9 at night if their car won’t start.”
Dexter Long spent 25 years working at Walmart, including in store management positions. Now, as a GoodCareers coach, he works with people who are dealing with domestic problems, or who lack the simple computer skills it takes to fill out a job application online.
“When I first met Cathy, she was not ready for work,” Long recalls of Wells, the employee who’d been released from prison in 2020. But, he adds, “the first thing with Cathy, she owned what she did.”