A day with a homeless family: Working to turn their lives around

This day Waukisha is off to talk with a PSP job adviser, Greg to amuse the kids in the children’s library.She meets with PSP intern job counselor Danica Daleiden who is helping her work up a job resume listing not only jobs but the job skills she’s acquired over the years. the materials detail her customer service certification, problem-solving abilities, work as a bank teller and “excellent communication skills and dependability.” “It actually sounds really good. it sounds lovely,” Waukisha said, though admitting, “I’m trying so hard not to go back into banking right now.”

Yet skills learned will translate to other kinds of jobs as well, Daleiden tells her, explaining how she’ll receive a CD of the resume and a cover letter. She hands her a black pocket folder listing job websites and shows her a three-ring binder listing current jobs. Would she like to set up an appointment to practice job-interviewing? Yes, Waukisha says, adding, “I’ve always been terrible at that.” once she has an interview, PSP will see she has interview clothes, head to toe. “I’m excited to go looking again,” Waukisha says as she leaves. later she’ll head to the on-site computer room to check her emails, pointing to a request from Delta Airlines — more than a week old — for the names of people who can recommend her.though a staff person helps Waukisha find the reference’s new York City address, she says she can’t follow up right then. This particular afternoon the Ellises must go to Sabathani Community Center to look for clothes for their children.  In the libraryIn the library down the hall, Waukisha tells Greg the jobs adviser “… did a rocking job…but I don’t want to count money.” Around them, Gabe — the “one-shoe wonder” because he’s always kicking off one shoe or the other — and baby Faith look at books but Malachi grabs a huge armful off a shelf and drops them to the floor. His mother scolds gently. “When you do that Malachi, Mommy has to clean it up and Mommy gets cranky,” she tells him. the boy looks a little contrite and comes to her for a hug.You’re so mellow, I tell her. “Cindy doesn’t get to see me about a quarter to midnight,” she said. “I get anxiety. I know I’m going to be locked in, that I can’t go outside for a smoke.””We have our reality moments,” Greg agrees. “We’ve cried; we’ve screamed. we have our angry moments, our pity moments.”   It’s the looking for jobs that can get them down, the Ellises say, the hundreds of qualified applicants for the same job in these recessionary times. Still, he expects life will change for the better now, with PSP and the family’s access to county support programs. “I’m being smart. I’m utilizing resources,” in an effort to get back on the self-sufficiency track, Greg says. Lunch cafeteria styleMidday, Waukisha leads the family to PSP’s dining room, choosing a long table against a back wall, out of the mainstream in hopes her children will settle quietly to eating rather be distracted by the people around them.Food is plentiful: rich pea soup, tomato-sauced meat loaf, beef cubes on rice, canned green beans, pineapple tidbits and a two-bite cupcake. Bread and salad are available as well.

<a href="http://www.minnpost.com/communitysketchbook/2010/10/15/22353/a_day_with_a_homeless_family_working_to_turn_their_lives_aroundtag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.minnpost.com/communitysketchbook/2010/10/15/22353/a_day_with_a_homeless_family_working_to_turn_their_lives_aroundFri, 15 Oct 2010 14:00:30 GMT 00:00″>A day with a homeless family: Working to turn their lives around

appointment, bank teller, communication skills, cover letter, jobs, resume