At its September 16, 2011 Board meeting, TCWIB gave a STEP award to Jacqueline Kimani. Jackie came to Indiana County from California after living in California for five years. Jackie chose a move to Pennsylvania because of serious financial problems, foreclosure and a broken relationship. She originally came from Kenya, Africa with her 1st child and lived and worked in California as a security officer, bookkeeper, customer service representative, and court clerk. Jackie was educated in Kenya and went through high school and community college for secretarial employment but with no family members in the United States, her support network was very limited. Jackie felt as though she had no one to turn to and didn’t know which public agencies or services to contact.
When Jackie came to Pennsylvania, she applied for public assistance because she had little money and needed proper housing, food, and medical benefits for her son. She was able to work but had no job offers, therefore she felt as though she has no other choice but to sign up for welfare benefits. Jackie was enrolled in the CDC Program on 9/23/2008 and briefly did job search. However she left the program unsuccessfully on 10/6/2008 with no communication or documentation because she felt that she could not meet the requirements of the Work Certified Program. Jackie also did not have reliable transportation. Later that year, Jackie began working at Wal-Mart but left that job after only 5 months and did not return due to maternity leave.
Jackie entered the CDC Program for a second time on 5/11/2010 after having a second child. Through the CDC Program, Jackie was able to fix her vehicle and get her car properly insured. For the first time, Jackie was introduced to CCIS and found reliable childcare. It was during this enrollment that Jackie took advantage of the services and information available at the EARN Program. Jackie brushed up on her typing skills for accuracy and sped through the Mavis Beacon Program. She took the Microsoft Access workshop offered at the PA Careerlink Indiana County and then applied for numerous Civil Service tests to be considered for clerical, UC Intake and other local positions. When a working client (who was in retention) stated that she needed some temporary help at a local Culligan Soft Water Service office, Jackie immediately stated that she was interested in the position and interviewed with the owner. Jackie was elated to get the job. She finally felt as though her life was turning around! Jackie started on 8/23/2010 as an on-call clerical assistant. She immediately started to obtain more hours as she built a good working relationship with the owner and staff. Jackie began her retention in the EARN Program on 11/1/2010.
In November 2010, Jackie was hired at the Indiana County Assistance office as a Temporary Limited Clerk Typist. Effective March 2011 Jackie was interviewed and offered a permanent position as a Clerk Typist II. Jackie feels very fortunate to be a part of the Indiana County Assistance Office team. Jackie has expressed that she hopes to change lives make positive changes to the lives of the people around her. Jackie feels as though she is finally where she is meant to be—home.