SVdP: Jobs Program Offers Paid, Part-time Employment and Training

July 14, 2022                                          
Contact: Barb Hunt, St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                              
(925) 330-6732
[email protected]

St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa Announces a New Cycle of
The Workforce Development Program – Paid Job-Training!


Remi Martin helps find clothing for the homeless at her new job at a SVdP Thrift Store as part of the Workforce Development Program.

Jobs Program Offers Paid, Part-time Employment and Training

August, 2022 - The Workforce Development Program at St. Vincent de Paul is a paid job training program aimed at helping the unemployed re-enter the workforce and find stable employment. In these hard times, it is more important than ever that job applicants understand workplace expectations and have the soft skills to be a contributing employee. The 24-week program teaches participants skills and techniques to find a job and be successful in the workplace, offering training in resume development, interviewing, and organizational skills in a supportive & compassionate environment. The Workforce Development Program at St. Vincent de Paul aims to help those in need overcome whatever barriers may exist that are preventing them from finding a good job.

Participants are asked to attend mandatory orientation sessions. Sessions are in:

• Pleasant Hill –at Christ the King Church, 195 Brandon Rd., 8/5/22 & 8/9/22 from 10 am – 1 pm
• Brentwood – at St. Vincent de Paul, 8890 Brentwood Blvd., 8/7/22 & 8/13/22 from 2 pm – 5 pm
• Pittsburg – at St. Vincent de Paul, 2210 Gladstone Dr., 8/10/22 & 8/15/22 from 2 pm – 5 pm.

Applicants are required to attend both a Part 1 and Part 2 session, at the location most convenient for them. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age. To learn more and download an application, visit svdp-cc.org. To RSVP for a session call (925) 439-5060 or email [email protected]

The Workforce Development Program aims to help tear down the barriers that stand in the way of employment for individuals who have struggled to obtain and maintain employment. Participants work with mentors and take weekly classes to develop workplace skills. A new class of participants is selected every three months.

Participants gain paid, part-time, (22.5 hours per week), work experience in a St. Vincent de Paul thrift store or SVdP’s trucking and transportation department. Additional training in retail operations including cash register operations, inventory display and optimization, and warehouse operations is also provided.

The strength of St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County is the ability of its volunteers to comprehensively help neighbors in need. Remi Martin first came to SVdP to join the Workforce Development Program, and   found herself connected to a community that wanted to help her.

“I was in a really bad situation. I had no job, I had no money, I couldn’t pay my bills,” Remi said. “I had no insurance either. I had four holes in my teeth that the free dental clinic at SVdP are helping me with. I’ve been unable to chew on my right side for the last two years.”

Remi worked for a manufacturing company in the Bay Area, but experienced a hostile workplace and felt compelled to leave. After her unemployment was cut off, she found herself not only unable to pay her rent, but with her hot water cut off. “Working here at SVdP has been helping me,” Remi said. “When I came here I had so much anger and didn’t talk to people, but people here are so nice and I’m able to open up to people in a way I really haven’t before. There has been a lot of emotional help.”

Remi said she loves the WFD program at SVdP. She said she is learning a host of new skills, but most of all she has a sense that she is helping people.

“I love working here. I’m learning new skills, like using a cash register. I had a couple of hiccups but I really got the hang of it now,” Remi said. “Most of all I really like helping people. Like when homeless people come in and we can get them a new set of clothes. It really feels good.”

St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County has provided safety-net services in the county for over 57 years, serving 100,000 people annually and distributing over $1.7 million in direct financial assistance and over $2.3 million of in-kind aid. Over 700 SVdP volunteers and a small staff lead operations in Contra Costa including the SVdP Family Resource Center in Pittsburg, 28 branches, and 3 Thrift Stores. One of the largest charitable organizations in the world, St. Vincent de Paul is an international, nonprofit, Catholic lay organization of more than 800,000 men and women who voluntarily join together to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to the needy and suffering in 155 countries on five continents.