Today, Rob is in school full time at Southwest Tennessee Community College working toward a bachelor’s degree in sociology and interning with the director of Shelby County Community Services. He also has his job at The Collective, supporting other young adults in his community—recruiting individuals into programming, planning events to engage the community, and helping to identify clients’ needs and connect them to work opportunities and support services, including mental health, child care, and transportation.
Rob works beyond his job description to check in on youth to see how they’re doing and connect them with the services they need. His driving force is “we’ll come to you and meet where you are.” He believes that people with low skills and multiple barriers cannot be expected to find their own way to economic success without some form of assistance.
JFF has long supported programs and strategies that prepare individuals like Rob for family-supporting careers. We believe that education, workforce development, and poverty alleviation programs must provide robust and holistic supports—including career navigation, child care, transportation, and mental health/counseling services. These services are needed to help students and workers make informed career decisions while reducing barriers, so individuals can stick with these programs and retain good jobs with family-sustaining wages. Federal policy needs to recognize and support programs that encourage and provide these essential services.