Bridge Communities expands employment program for homeless

Bridge Communities in Glen Ellyn has hired a new employment coordinator to expand its jobs program.

Mary Zienty now works with Bridge’s employment director Patty Kelly to help Bridge’s 100-plus clients find jobs and increase their earnings at their current jobs.

Bridge’s mission to help homeless families transition to financial stability, permanent housing and self-sufficiency is deeply rooted in the belief that its clients need to maximize their earnings potential.

“Our vision is to develop the capacity and efficiency of the employment program to help our clients more efficiently, effectively and consistently,” Kelly said.

The addition of Zienty to the staff provides Kelly support in meeting with clients to identify skills, interests and abilities in order to pursue employment opportunities.

Zienty’s role includes building relationships with hiring managers at staffing agencies and also at-large employers. Bridge also provides ongoing mentoring and support so that once clients are hired, they have a better chance at success.

Bridge is collaborating with West Suburban Job Council, which consists of not-for-profit agencies in DuPage that share job leads and provide skill-building programs for clients.

“We’ve got a greater awareness of what other agencies are doing and what our clients can take advantage of,” Zienty said.

Zienty also is implementing is a group approach to job-skills training.

“We see the importance of job clubs and networking. Networking strategies are more important than ever, and we are focusing on that. We plan to do group training, which will then develop into job clubs that would offer our clients peer support and accountability,” Zienty said.

The vision is to bring groups of clients together to not only acquire job search skills, but also to create relationships where they can learn with and from each other and support each other.

With a career background in human resources, Zienty had spent a lot of time developing resumes, career coaching, and assisting jobseekers in establishing and reaching goals. Initially a volunteer for Bridge, Zienty took on a client, then another and another. After several months of making a significant contribution to Bridge’s employment program, Zienty joined Bridge’s staff.

“Mary not only had the experience and credentials but also the passion that we always look for. I saw someone that had that extra thing we look for in our mentors, in all of our staff, to have that care to give to our clients,” Kelly said.

For information on Bridge Communities and its programs, see bridgecommunities.org.