LOS ANGELES — Breaz McCaskill spent four years working days, weekends and holidays at Rite Aid in what seemed like an endless cycle. She felt her career was going nowhere.

“I was in, what are those little things called? A little hamster wheel,” McCaskill said. “I feel like I was in that for four years.”

What You Need To Know

  • Many people in Los Angeles who are earning minimum wage are struggling with financial stability
  • Five percent of California women who work full-time and 53 % of those working part-time have earnings below the federal poverty level, according to a recent report
  • JVS SoCal works to help people find more sustainable career paths, and stop the cycle of poverty
  • The program is eight weeks long

She had started college but a disagreement with her dad pushed her to work full-time. She moved from the Inland Empire to LA and slept on the couch while living with family.

“I didn’t really have any goals, didn’t really have anything in mind for what I wanted to do,” she recalled.

One day, a customer handed her a flyer for a job training program called JVS SoCal, a free career development training program in Los Angeles that has been helping people get jobs for 90 years.

Many people in LA who are earning minimum wage are struggling with financial stability. That’s even more true for women. Five percent of California women who work full-time and 53% of those working part-time have earnings below the federal poverty level, according to a recent report.

JVS SoCal works to help people find more sustainable career paths and stop the cycle of poverty.

McCaskill spent eight weeks in the program preparing for an entry-level medical job as part of the CareerWork$ Medical program.

She worked with instructors like Jesslyn Chatman who said the organization’s goal is to equip people and empower them to explore different career paths.

“We understand you’re more than capable. We just want to help you figure out what lane is yours,” Chatman said. “Those who are in certain statuses, they kinda get told, ‘this is your it, this is your all, you may just be at Rite Aid, don’t go no further than that.’ But we want them to know, no, there are ways you can help people in a plethora of avenues.”

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McCaskill now works at RadNet and was recently promoted to scheduler. She makes more money, and thanks to the Women’s Leadership Network, just furnished her apartment.

“I’ve been able to move out from family, get my own apartment, get my own furniture and it’s just been absolutely amazing,” McCaskill said.

JVS SoCal is hosting its ninth annual Woman to Woman Conference Thursday, Nov. 18.