LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It's an opportunity to earn money, get job skills and find a fresh path in life
During this stretch of extreme cold, Louisville shelters are not only ushering homeless residents out of the elements. They are also connecting individuals with pathways to stable housing and work opportunities.
One such program is provided by Goodwill Industries: Another Way. Inside the Kentucky Expo Center, Stefphan Gholston helps lead a small team that includes some Louisville residents who face homelessness and live in shelters.
“The workplace training is amazing because they get an opportunity to not only make a short term stipend, to take care of their immediate needs, but they get to really work [on] those job skills that they probably already gained over the course of life," Gholston said.
Gholston is an outreach supervisor, a mentor and advocate for the individuals who have signed up for the training, many of whom may live in a homeless camp or shelter space.
Not only is the program offering opportunities to reenter the workforce, but staff members such as Gholston are helping people apply for benefits and services available to them.
“Whenever they tell you they are going to do something, they are really 100% behind it, and I think it’s a great program," said participant Charles Douglas, who has been working with the Another Way program for the last two years.
The participants receive a daily stipend on a VISA debit card. Shifts typically last three to hours, and transportation is provided.