WESTCHESTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE’S DISPLACED HOMEMAKER PROGRAM HELPS THOSE WHO NEED HELP DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON, AND ALL YEAR LONG

Westchester Community College’s Project Transition Program for Westchester/Putnam residents who are divorced, widowed, separated, or have a permanently disabled or unemployed spouse, lends a helping hand to those who need assistance during the holidays and throughout the year.

Over the past 22 years, Project Transition has helped more than 8,000 women from our area to gain marketable skills and find employment. By providing intensive computer skills and career strategies training to these new breadwinners, the program has been able to help them find employment that allows them to support themselves and their families, and prevent them from falling into poverty.

“I can’t express how much the opportunity to participate in Project Transition has meant to me, and has changed my life,” says Alexandra, a recent graduate of the program. “I couldn’t believe that I was creating spreadsheets in Excel, mail merging in Word, and even using animation effects for a PowerPoint Presentation. After graduation, I found a position with a decent salary, full benefits and health insurance. I’m so happy; I love my job. Project Transition made all of this possible for me,” she says.

The Displaced Homemaker Program, with primary funding provided by the New York State Department of Labor, provides multipurpose vocationally related services to individuals who have been displaced from their careers as unpaid homemakers. The goal is to help long-term homemakers develop and implement sound vocational plans leading to employment, which will allow them to become economically independent.

The needs of displaced homemakers are extensive. Besides the problems associated with economic loss – child care, transportation, housing and lack of basic necessities – the disruption of family life may result in emotional, medical and legal difficulties. Displaced homemakers often lack self-confidence and self-esteem, which can be formidable barriers to employment.

Crisis intervention, counseling, and referral to relevant community service agencies are often critical preliminary needs of displaced homemakers. Program participants can then move on to various structured job readiness programs, which teach skills ranging from assertiveness to decision making to resume writing and job seeking strategies. Individual counseling and placement services, including assessment and resume preparation, are provided to participants before, during, after, or in lieu of structured job preparation programs. Job preparation components include Job Readiness, Self Development and Job Clubs. After graduation from the program, trainees work with a job developer/coach to develop a customized job search plan. Through this six-week training program at Westchester Community College, qualified residents from Westchester and Putnam are able to identify their marketable skills.

Project Transition at Westchester Community College is one of twenty-two similar programs throughout the state of New York. The services that these centers provide give individuals the opportunity to gain the confidence and self-sufficiency needed to lead a full and productive life.

For further information, please visit www.sunywcc.edu/projecttransition or phone 914-606-6825.