What does the Employment & Training team do?
Our team does employment readiness and work history assessments to determine if a client is a good fit for our employment skills workshop.  We look at barriers to employment, what has caused past job’s or career’s to end, as well as education gained and further education or training desired by each individual. Once they have completed our employment skills workshop, they graduate to our job search program where they get one-on-one job search support and job coaching.  We help connect them with interview clothing and haircuts, as well as soft essential skills that complete their transformation into excellent candidates for their goal position. As we transition into our client’s gaining employment, we then support them while on the job for up to 6 months to ensure that they can navigate their work environment and the stresses that come with a part-time or full-time job.

What made you want to work for HealthNet’s Homeless Initiative Program?
My wife worked for a short time partially with HIP and partially with Adult and Child, where they trained clients with mental health and homelessness barriers to enter the hospitality industry.  I volunteered to do some mock interviews and speak to several of their classes.  I connected to those client’s hearts and enjoyed that time more than anything else.  I  had decided in 2012 to take my career a different route and HIP had a Job Development position open. I applied and was lucky enough to be offered the position.

What is the most satisfying part of your job?
Bar none, the opportunity to see a client walk through our doors after they have been offered and accepted a job.

 To learn more about HealthNet’s Homeless Initiative Program, please click here. If you would like to make a donation to HIP, please visit www.indyhealthnet.org/Donate.

What is the importance of the City County Council’s decision to pass the Ban the Box initiative for those applying to the City of Indianapolis and their vendors?

The 26-2 decision by the City County Council to pass a local Ban the Box initiative potentially has a large impact on those searching for employment in Marion County.  This impact will not be immediately

felt by individuals with criminal histories unless applying to these entities in the near future, but hopes are high that this trickles to private employers to consider those recovering from past mistakes.

With the most recent numbers showing 5,000 individuals exiting from prison per year into Marion County, this is an important victory for those trying to get back on the employment track.  Many ex-offenders have plenty of positive skills to provide to employers but have difficulty getting back into employment and finding employers that are willing to give those with past convictions a second chance.  All that is needed is an opportunity to get their “foot into the door” in order to sell themselves to the employers.  This decision gives hope to those searching for employment that their criminal history may not be an immediate barrier to this process. If they can sell the employer on their skill sets, they can then address the criminal history with an opportunity to explain what they have done since their conviction to choose a different path and learn from their past mistakes.

Employers often tell me that they have some flexibility to consider applicants with criminal history but that the challenge is really preparing those with this barrier on how to provide “proof” that this decision making process is different and that they truly have learned from their mistakes.  This falls on employment professionals within our county to prepare these individuals properly so that they can speak about past poor choices and how that affected their life in a positive manner.

If you have the ability and desire to help those struggling to find employment opportunities or practice building interview skills, please contact Matt Holland at 317-957-2275 for our Mock Interviewing with employment ready individuals that we facilitate every two weeks.  We also are seeking private employers that are interested in providing opportunities to those in our community that are transitioning out of a situation of homelessness back into society in order to be productive members of our community.

For more information about HealthNet’s Homeless Initiative Program, please visit www.indyhealthnet.org.

The Homeless Initiative Program’s Employment and Training department holds Mock Interview sessions for our client’s every 2-3 weeks.  We take our client’s through the process of how to maximize their skills and workplace skills to impress that future employer and “sell the employer” that they are the right candidate.  Having professional Human Resources and/or hiring personnel feedback is a large part of building the belief that they can attain their goal and reach the position they desire.

If you are interested in volunteering some of your time and professional knowledge to benefit those searching for their next employment opportunity and molding them into the best candidate that they can be, please contact Matt Holland, Employer Liaison at the Homeless Initiative Program at 317-957-2275 Ext. 4006 or mholland1@iuhealth.org for more information.