"Hard Lives, Low Pay, Big Stakes" by Keith Hammonds Fast Company, November 1999 By Mary Krentz

As I enter the home, I hear a baby crying in the other room and see two small children hovering around their mother's knees. I was asked to come to this home to teach the mother how to make her limited food stamp dollars last for the entire month. The family is visibly hungry as their two bags of food from the food shelf are nearly gone. My heart suddenly becomes heavy as I realize the urgency of this visit. This scenario is reality for many welfare families.

Working with welfare recipients has been a big part of my life for the past eight years. My job is to provide nutrition education to food stamp recipients. Teaching families how to not only eat healthy, but also stretch their food dollar can be a challenge. I have learned a wealth of information relating to the everyday struggles of many of these families. This article was especially intriguing to me because it offered relevant insight regarding important factors creating a meaningful learning experience for this audience.

Dean Curtis is an expert at training welfare recipients in how to find and keep a job. His firm, Curtis & Associates, provides training for thousands of welfare recipients each year. In addition, Curtis offers several suggestions for employers in regards to retaining good employees. He explains, "If you want to find and keep great people-whether they're making $10 an hour or $200,000 a year, you've got to reckon with three key issues." The first important thing an employer can do is get to know his or her employees. It is that kind of attention that makes an employee feel wanted. Second, make all expectations known. For people who have never held a real job, even the basics of work can seem alien. Finally, give new employees a formal mentor. Providing a good role model will no doubt yield a positive outcome.

Jeanie Wood is a supervisor and rainer for Curtis & Associates. She has a long history of training welfare recipients and placing them in permanent jobs. Woods believes it is crucial that welfare recipients are taught: responsibility, ownership and urgency-the sense they need to act now. The number of people who fear success surprises her on a regular basis. When asked, why do they fear success, Woods responds, "Because a lot of then have never had role models for success or positive influences in their lives." I also believe this to be true of the welfare recipients I educate. I love the mentor idea! I plan to investigate how a mentoring program could enhance learning and increase the possibility of long-term behavior change among this clientele within the field of nutrition education.

I shared this article with several colleagues. They all agreed upon the importance of creating a better support system for welfare recipients entering the workforce. They expressed concerns about the lack of support offered to them once they secure a job. I also shared the article with an employer of welfare recipients. It took a negative experience for this employer to recognize the importance of establishing clear expectations. This employer also liked the mentor idea and may implement it in the future.

-- Anonymous, January 31, 2000

Answers

Mary,

Interesting article. It really turns on some light bulbs when you stop to think about the statement that was made about fearing success because they have never had a role model for success. Everyone should have a role model for success!

Joyce

-- Anonymous, February 10, 2000