Stimulus Funds Help Single Mom Get Back On Her Feet

The day she and her boyfriend split up, Angel was handed the massive task of building a new life from scratch for herself and her two small children. For years, her boyfriend had paid the family’s bills and attended school while Angel was a stay-at-home mom to her now 8-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter. As a result, the young mother had little work experience and even less formal education in one of the worst job markets to hit the U.S. since the Great Depression.

That day marked the beginning of an uphill struggle for Angel – one that’s faced by many people just like her across California where the March unemployment rate stood at 12.3 percent. But while it continues to be difficult, life is looking better for Angel since she qualified for the stimulus-funded Santa Clara County Works program. Through SCC Works and other CalWorks benefits, Angel now has a part-time job, an apartment in Santa Clara and is back in school.

SCC Works was created last August through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009's Emergency Contingency Fund (ARRA/ECF). The program is available to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and public agencies providing a community service within Santa Clara County.

The subsidized employment program is administered through the county and pays 100 percent of employee wages for up to 20 hours per week at area non-profits. There is also an option in which an employee can work 40 hours a week at a for-profit business and have 80 percent of their wages subsidized.

Beyond infusing consumer spending into the South Bay economy, SCC Works gives program participants the opportunity to work and gain valuable job experience while serving as a free staffing resource to participating worksite employers. More than 1,100 people including Angel have been put back to work in subsidized employment positions through the program.

Angel works as a back-shop assistant for the non-profit Career Closet. The organization, located in San Jose, provides business attire free of charge to individuals who want to re-enter the workforce prepared to make a great first impression and land the job they want. Angel isn’t the only person benefitting from the program either. Heather Rodriguez, a manager at Career Closet, said that Angel has made a real contribution to the work being done at the organization.

"She has really taken charge of our back shop," Heather said. "She really makes sure that what we have on our floor for our clients is appropriate for work. And, her confidence has grown as she’s seen what a difference she makes here."

Like other programs funded by the 2009 economic stimulus package, SCC Works could end as soon as September 30, 2010. You can watch a Sacred Heart produced video featuring Angel and other people like her here or click here for more information about SCC Work.