Maureen's Story
Maureen kicks herself when she thinks of the job that got away. In the late 1980s, she had just completed a clerical training program. Searching the classified ads one evening, she discovered a job that looked perfect. The ad was looking for someone to do filing part-time. Maureen wrote down the number and called right away. The number went to the hiring manager’s answering machine, but Maureen immediately hung up. She was too nervous to leave a message. “She sounded like such a nice lady, but I didn’t know what to say,” said Maureen. “That would have been a wonderful job.” Twenty years later, she still thinks of what might had been if she had received the right support.
Fortunately, wh Maureen went looking for a job last year, things were different. With the support of The Employment Partners program at PDDC, Maureen had the confidence to know that she would be supported through all phases of employment, including talking to hiring managers. Last November, with the support of Employment Partners’ job developers, she was able to find a job match that suited her—cleaning an AT&T center in Philadelphia. With tips and training on how to interview, her meeting with the hiring manager went smoothly. “I felt comfortable,” said Maureen. “Everyone was very nice to me.”
This isn’t to say that things went off without a hitch. At first, says Maureen, she found the job somewhat overwhelming. She was faced with new routines to memorize, new machines to understand. Maureen says that her job coach, Eric Lawton, took the time to show her how to use the cleaning machines and walked her through her job routine until she was at ease. She says that she now understands her job well and feels at home there. After three months, in fact, she was so successful that Employment Partners was able to fade job coaching.
More than anything else, said Maureen, the hardest thing she had to adapt to was learning to sign in and out properly. The AT&T call center uses a complex electronic employee sign in console that required both punching in codes and making a phone call. Many new employees struggle with it. It was her fellow AT&T employees who were really helpful showing Maureen how to use this system. She said that the way her co-workers took the time to help her learn to code in the system made her feel especially welcome.
Maureen says she enjoys the variety that comes with working both a community job and a job at PDDC. She loves meeting new people at AT&T but counts many old friends at her day program at PDDC. She especially likes contracts like folding and labeling publications like The Family Forum. At the same time, she enjoys the extra money she makes working at AT&T during the weekend. Besides, she says, “Who wants to sit home?”
With her new job and independent housing, Maureen is living a life drastically different from the life she experienced five years ago. She had been living with five other women in a community living arrangement. She said having a lot of roommates was good for some people, but it really wasn’t for her. She really enjoys being able to spend time by herself. And she loves being able to earn her own money, which she likes to save.
Maureen says she likes her life and wouldn’t want to change it dramatically. She likes working in the community. Down the road, she would even consider looking for a different kind of job that offers more hours per week. It’s good to know that, when that time comes, she will have the support of people who will make sure that the best opportunities don’t slip away.
The Arc of Philadelphia / PDDC • 2350 W. Westmoreland St • Philadelphia, PA 19140 • 215-229-4550