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Last year more than 150 million Americans went to work each day, including Luz Torres. A devoted wife and mother of two, Torres worked long hours as an ultrasound technician in a Seattle-area medical clinic in order to help make ends meet at home.

Then one day, she lost her job because her physician’s group she worked for had to move from the area. Torres, unable to afford relocation and facing a saturated ultrasound technician job market, couldn’t find work. Her world started to unravel.

“I became homeless,” said Torres, 40, who spent the last year living in her car to staying in transitional housing. “I received TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), which helps you get by. But then a counselor at a shelter offered me a new program.”

Torres enrolled in an education program that would help her learn new skills to achieve employment. The opportunity came from the Health Professions Opportunity Grants (HPOG) program found in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Shortly after moving in with her grandparents at the age of 18, Kim Campbell found out that she was pregnant. She found and enrolled in the Project ELECT program at the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit (CSIU) in central Pennsylvania. Project ELECT (Education Leading to Employment and Career Training) is a counseling and instructional program providing intensive case management, health education, child development and parenting skills training, and career awareness and job-readiness training to pregnant and parenting teens in high school or alternative settings.

I can honestly say the Health Profession Opportunity Grant has contributed to my success.

My story starts in October of 2009, I lost my job. To make things harder my father suffered a mini stroke, and I decided to take a couple of months off to take care of him.

His progress was amazing and in April of 2010 I decided it was time to look for a job. It did not turn in my favor. The oil spill happened on April 20, and every restaurant on the Gulf Coast put a freeze on hiring. So I remembered the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, I was not going to sit around and wait on BP. I enrolled in Pensacola State College. It was not the easiest thing that I have ever done. I had my father, my health (I am living with HIV) and a household to run, along with school full time. How do you do it? I had to make my sacrifices, and give it my best.

Well, I felt like I was at my end point, and I was directed to HPOG. They took me in, offered me counseling and support, and everywhere that I needed help, they were there. The staff has gone far and beyond to push me to do my best. They helped me out with my school financially (tuition, books, etc.) There was several times I wanted to throw in the towel, but the support and advice they have given me kept me on the right road.

Iva Romans is a woman of valor.

This 54 year old native of the southwest was living in a homeless shelter in Green Bay, Wisconsin. She began to work and go to school, per the shelter’s rules, and soon completed 14 credits.

Six months later, Iva was accepted into a Health Professions Opportunity Grant program and soon enrolled in a Certified Nursing Assistant class. Here’s where her determination was tested--Iva spent six hours a day in class, four more at her job and doing homework, plus another five riding public transportation.

Two months later, when Iva completed her work experience and chose to continue her education, the shelter in which she had been living asked her to leave.

At this point, the HPOG staff sprang into action, providing the wraparound services that allowed Iva to continue her education. They connected her with reliable transportation options and emergency temporary housing. Later, they worked with her to develop a reasonable budget for housing and other living expenses.

Iva independently found an apartment and furnishings and planned to graduate at the end of 2012 with a degree in practical nursing.

Shaneira’s story portrays how training programs can offer the change needed to transform an individual’s life. After finding herself in a challenging situation as a single pregnant woman, Shaneira endured many personal and professional barriers to sustained employment. Already struggling from pregnancy-related health complications, Shaneira soon found she was facing yet another obstacle when she prematurely delivered her son due to her involvement in a car accident during her eighth month of pregnancy. Although Shaneira was confused and scared, she knew she wanted to make something of her life in order to provide for her child. Having nowhere to turn, she soon found herself homeless, unemployed, and a young single parent.

Her story takes a positive turn when the Bridge Communities transitional housing program in Glen Ellyn, Illinois referred her to the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Profession Opportunity Grant (HPOG) Pharmacy Technician Training Program at Jewish Vocational Service. After successfully completing the classroom-based course and receiving her Illinois pharmacy technician license, Shaneira soon passed the national PTCB credential exam, which would allow her to work in any pharmacy nationwide.

JVS is pleased to report that Shaneira is gainfully employed as a Pharmacy Technician with CVS Pharmacy in Peru, Illinois where she now lives with her two year old son. It truly takes a network of passionate social service providers to empower a young single mother. Honoring Shaneira for her dedication and perseverance would be the best ending to this journey.

In early 2015, at the age of 33, Jordan heard about the HPOG-funded HEART Project at Turtle Mountain Community College (TMCC). He was eager to become a part of a community and explore a career he had always been interested in. By summer of the same year, Jordan enrolled at TMCC and began receiving HPOG program supports through the HEART Project. He started giving up negative activities that were a detriment to his aspirations and fully focusing on continuing his education.

The purpose of this information memorandum (IM) is to strongly encourage all human service agencies including child welfare agencies, courts, offices of child support enforcement, offices of public assistance, offices of child care, Head Start programs and family and youth services programs to work together across governments to jointly create and maintain an environment that prioritizes father engagement as a critical factor in strengthening families and adopt approaches to enhance paternal involvement in all family support and child welfare related programs.

Cortney was a single mother focused on her daughter’s education when she heard about CAP Tulsa’s CareerAdvance program. Through her daughter’s attendance at CAP Tulsa’s early childhood education program, Cortney learned about the opportunity to join the healthcare field through the HPOG 1.0 grant in 2012.

Annual Statistical Report On Children In Foster Homes and Children In Families
Receiving Payments In Excess of the Poverty Income Level From a State Program Funded
Under Part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act

The new HPOG Participant Pathway 2D animation brings to life the pathway participants follow to financial self-sufficiency. The video gives an overview of the program from participant engagement, enrollment, and training to career readiness, graduation, and employment.