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From help to hope: Employment Pipeline aims to help those on public assistance find work [The Olympian (Olympia, Wash.)](Olympian (Olympia, WA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 02--It's another day for Jennifer Good, 35, of Olympia, which means she's up at 5 a.m. to attend to her infant son's needs, changing his diaper and preparing a bottle of milk for him. Then she grabs a little more sleep before getting up to take a shower. She then gets dressed, packs the diaper bag, prepares her lunch and then the two of them get into her brother's vehicle and leave. She drops her son off at a daycare in Lacey, a daycare that offers 24-hour care, and then she heads off to work, arriving about noon to see if she can start her shift earlier than usual to get more overtime hours. If not, her regular shift as a call center agent in Lacey begins at 1:30 p.m. and ends at 11 p.m. During the day she will field about six incoming calls per hour from customers throughout the country for an undisclosed major wireless carrier, troubleshooting whatever problems they might be having with their phone or bill. At the end of her shift, there's always a carpool instant message that is sent out among the hundreds of people who work at the call center, looking to match up those who need a ride home. There's no Intercity Transit bus service to that part of Lacey, north of Interstate 5, and there never has been. Even if there were, quitting time falls outside typical bus hours. For those who do take the bus, the walk is just under two miles from the Lacey Walmart, one of the closest stops. Good then picks up her son after 11 p.m. and goes home, their day complete. But it will begin soon enough at 5 a.m. Good is a recovering drug addict, someone who was hooked on methamphetamine when she recently lived in Douglas County in southern Oregon, a county that has struggled with meth use, she said. She finally left Douglas County and moved to Olympia to be with her brother, a place where she has been able to develop a routine and bring structure to her life. She can cook and clean and do what a normal person does every day. "I came here for a life change," said Good, who reached for a tissue to dab her eyes, emotional about how far she's come. And she's had a job since July. "I'm teaching myself how to work and live again," she said. EMPLOYMENT PIPELINE Unable to find work when she moved to Olympia, she received public assistance from the state through a program called temporary assistance for needy families, or TANF, which is administered through the state Department of Social and Health Services. TANF, which is reserved for very low-income individuals, can provide childcare assistance, some medical assistance, housing assistance and support dollars, such as for appropriate clothing for work or a bus pass. About 3,400 people are on TANF in Thurston County, DSHS data show. Because Good was receiving state aid and didn't have a job, she qualified for Employment Pipeline, a new program launched this year by the Economic Services Administration, a division of DSHS. The program, which has partnered with regional employers, including the Xerox-run call center in Lacey, aims to help DSHS clients like Good eventually get off public assistance and into permanent work. Other employers in the program include Fred Meyer stores, state government, Lucky Eagle Casino and Hotel in Rochester, a Domino's distribution center in Kent and Gate Gourmet in Sea-Tac, where employees prepare and package meals to be served in the airport and on planes. There's also Altus Traffic of Kent, a flagging business; Tacoma Public Schools and the Washington Restaurant Association. So far more than 100 people have found work through the program, said Don Mercer, statewide employer relations manager and co-founder of Employment Pipeline. "A lot of people need work right now and want to work right now," he said. The Xerox call center requires at least six months of customer service experience. But how do you gain the necessary work experience when you've never worked before? That's the problem Jeannine Woodall, 19, of Olympia, encountered. And then she found out she was pregnant -- she was expecting her first child, a girl, in late October -- and then she really needed a job. Employment Pipeline partnered with South Puget Sound Community College to offer a six-hour customer service class -- Employment Pipeline calls the class "boot camp" -- and Xerox waived the customer service experience requirement for those who attended the class. "I couldn't have gotten a job very easily without it," said Woodall, who has received TANF. She started in May but currently is on maternity leave. But after boot camp, Xerox treated her like any other worker. That means an interview, background check and drug screening, followed by seven weeks of paid training at $10 per hour. After the training, employees receive performance-based pay, which, depending on how well and how reliably you work, can push the hourly rate from $10 to $13, said Jessica Coen, general manager at Xerox. XEROX BUSINESS SERVICES The Xerox call center, officially a division of the company called Xerox Business Services, has a history in Thurston County that dates to the 1980s. First it was Telemark, followed by LiveBridge, then Affiliated Computer Services, better known as ACS. Xerox acquired ACS in 2010 and eventually dropped the ACS name. The call center's former location in Tumwater was damaged in a fire, so Xerox relocated in 2011 to a 39,000-square-foot warehouse in Meridian Campus, Lacey, opposite Shipwreck Beads. It's not a small operation. Xerox currently employs just under 900 people, making it the third largest employer in the county, according to Thurston Economic Development Council employer data. Providence St. Peter Hospital is the largest private employer, followed by Walmart and its supercenter stores in Yelm, Lacey and Tumwater. Xerox general manager Coen wants to grow to employ 1,000. The warehouse is dominated by a huge open space that features more than 500 call center agent cubicles. And it's not quiet or inactive. All have their headsets on, chatting and responding to customer needs. Some stand and talk, some lean back in their chairs. Some toss a stress ball in the air, while others down beverages to keep their energy up. Every once in a while a hand shoots up in the air, a sign that a call center agent needs the assistance of a supervisor. The floor is busy, too, as employees head to and from break rooms. The demographic in the room trends young, but other ages are well represented, Coen said. There are retirees, military spouses, those exiting the military and reservists, she said. Average tenure at the call center is about 18 months. She acknowledged that the job can be monotonous and stressful, so the atmosphere feels loose. Some employees have decorated their cubicles for Halloween, including what appeared to be crime-scene tape on the floor, showing the outline of a homicide victim. Panda Express had set up a buffet for employees on a recent Tuesday, and food trucks are invited to the site, Coen said. And if you want more overtime, you can get it. Mary Legier, 54, of Lacey likes the overtime and the job's flexibility. She's not an Employment Pipeline client, but she lost her job after working in the dental profession for about 12 years. Out of work for a year, it gave her time to realize she didn't want to peer into another person's mouth again, so she tried Xerox. Xerox is open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week, except for Thanksgiving this year, so call center agents can work different shifts during the day and different days during the week. Call center agent Good likes to work Sunday through Thursday, she said. Legier praised the job because if she needs new tires for her car, she can put in the extra hours to buy them. The most she's worked in a two-week pay period was 130 hours, netting $1,400-$1,500, a combination of regular pay, overtime pay and incentive pay, she said. It helps, too, if you like to work with people, and she does, Legier said. And she's not put off by angry callers. "I have five daughters," she said with a laugh. "You can't shake me up." Since January, when Employment Pipeline was launched, Xerox has hired about 50 DSHS clients, but it currently has about 15, Coen said. Statewide employer relations manager Mercer said some have transitioned to other jobs, while others have been unable to continue at Xerox due to the lack of transportation to that area of Lacey. NO BUS SERVICE Intercity Transit, Thurston County's well known public transportation system, criss-crosses the county -- except for north of Interstate 5 in Lacey. And it never has offered fixed-route or Dial-A-Lift service there. "We would like to provide service everywhere," IT general manager Ann Freeman-Manzanares said, but growth of its service is based on where funding and demand takes it. There wasn't demand in that part of Lacey for bus service until it recently became more developed. IT aimed to extend service there in 2009-2010, but then the local economy was hit by the recession, she said. Seventy percent of IT's funding comes from sales tax revenue, which is sensitive to changes in the economy. Recent federal transportation funding was cut nearly 60 percent overall, and specific funding for bus replacement and facilities was eliminated completely. Ridership demand elsewhere also has forced IT to focus on existing service areas, such as on Martin Way, a major thoroughfare through Olympia and Lacey. Bus service there was increased to every 15 minutes, she said. Freeman-Manzanares said the search for funding continues. Although there's no direct bus service, it is available in the general area, which means some workers walk 1.5 to 1.7 miles to get to Xerox. Jason Webster, 32, of Olympia, who has worked at Xerox for three years, carpools 2-3 days a week, but rides the bus on the other days of his 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. shift, Sunday through Thursday. He has figured out three ways to go about it. He can take the 62A bus to Walmart in Lacey and walk from there, the longest walk; he can ride the 62A all the way to the end of its route at Orion Drive Northeast and Meridian Road Northeast, a slightly shorter walk; or he can ride the express bus to the IT Hawks Prairie park-and-ride on Hogum Bay Road, the shortest walk. But you also pay a higher fare for the express bus, and it isn't as convenient from his west Olympia home, he said. Call center agent Good said she's thankful that she can drive her brother's car, because without it, she wouldn't be able to work. "I want to be self-sufficient and a productive part of society," she said. Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403 [email protected] @rolf_boone ___ (c)2014 The Olympian (Olympia, Wash.) Visit The Olympian (Olympia, Wash.) at www.theolympian.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |