Sunday, September 13, 2009
Forty-five-year-old June Russell considered working construction when she was younger, "but I grew up and moved on from that." The new training, she says, "opened my eyes to a lot of things I might be interested in."
June Russell has worked as a security guard. A certified nursing assistant. A deli worker. A cake decorator. “I’ve been working all by life,” the 45-year-old says, “but I really didn’t have a career career. I was just working a job.”
Now Russell is in the midst of a 10-week training program at Bedford Hope Center, in the heart of the predominantly African-American Hill District of Pittsburgh. The training, she hopes, will land her a career in the construction industry. “I want to try something new,” she says, “something that’s going to set me and my husband up for retirement.”
Russell is just one of the residents of the Bedford Dwellings public housing community who has found new hope through the array of vital supportive programs housed at Bedford Hope Center.
The pre-apprenticeship training, with an emphasis on “green jobs” skills, is a collaboration between the Housing Authority of Pittsburgh, DeWitt Walton and other union activists in the Pittsburgh chapter of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, the United Steel Workers union, Honeywell and others.
“Our goal, along with the A. Philip Randolph Institute, is to focus on creating more opportunities for more folks to get involved in apprenticeship programs,” says Richard Morris, director of resident self-sufficiency for the housing authority. “But they need a place to start.”
Building a Better Life
The students, who range in age from 18 to 50, are receiving rigorous OSHA 30 and hazardous materials safety training. They’ll learn about personal protective equipment, mold remediation and high-efficiency heating and cooling systems. They’ll learn how to install geothermal equipment and energy-efficient windows and siding. The hope is that the training gives them a leg up in the job market.
“We see this as an opportunity to work with the community here and give these people an opportunity to make a better life for themselves,” says Warren Rasmussen, one of the trainers from the United Steel Workers. “A lot of them really don’t have good work experience, possibly coming from a service industry, fast food, that types of first-tier work.”
“They like the prospect of finding work at a decent wage, being able to provide for their families,” says Richard Prete, another trainer provided by the Steel Workers. “These are sharp people who, even though they don’t have a construction background, are picking it up real quick.”
Fifty-year-old Robert Vaughn has worked as a painter and done landscape construction, but is taking training at Bedford Hope Center to “further my career in more skilled position than the laborer that I already am…. I learned a lot here, more than I expected.”
For the Steel Workers, it’s a pilot program in a new kind of community involvement. If successful, the union hopes to replicate it in other communities, says George Lyles, who is coordinating the Bedford project. But for Bedford Hope Center, it’s just the latest avenue for connecting families to information and opportunities that lead to life-enhancing and job-preparatory skills.
A Real Support Network
Through August, the Housing Authority trained more than 260 community members with specific skills they need for working not only in construction, but also with computers or in home health care, video and sound production, or other fields. But Bedford Hope Center provides more than a hands-on introduction to specific jobs. The center’s training also emphasizes the soft skills – such as punctuality and reliability – that help residents succeed in any job, Morris says. More importantly, it offers the kind of support in residents’ personal lives that most training programs can’t provide, or simply ignore.
“Most training programs are not sensitive to the fact that you’re hungry,” Morris says. “They’re sensitive to the fact that they need you to be on time and pay attention in class. We’re sensitive to the fact that you’re hungry. You can come to us and get some gift certificates or something that will help you feed your family.”
A Different Kind of Public Housing
Bedford Hope Center and its training aren’t the only features that set the Pittsburgh housing authority apart. As part of the Move to Work initiative, the agency has clearance from the federal government to expand beyond its bricks and mortar role to actually pursue strategies to help residents eliminate their need to live public housing.
“We help residents become self-sufficient, obtain jobs and training, increase their income, and ultimately own a home and become a productive, tax-paying citizen,” Morris says. In the past 5 years, 30 residents have taken that step. The fact that housing in working-class neighborhoods runs from about $40,000 to $120,000 makes home ownership a real possibility, he says.
The agency houses 20,000 residents in senior high rises, neighborhood developments and scattered site locations. It also provides Section 8 vouchers and subsidized housing in mixed-income neighborhoods. Among its residents, the housing authority builds tenant councils and organizational skills, promotes voter activities, and offers financial planning. “We want our residents to learn to use all the levers of power available to citizens of the United States,” Morris says.
Story by Chuck Taylor, CWA Local 2202, and Michael Kuchta, AFSCME Council 5 Minnesota
Photos by Belinda Gallegos, 1199SEIU
