Meeting held at San Jose First Community Services, 24 N. 5th Street, San Jose

In attendance: Kate McNichols-San Jose First, Jennifer Goldberg-EHC, Alison Dougherty-Santa Clara Adult Education, Nancy Noel-CSA Mountain View/Alpha Omega, Gavin Melford-Second Start, Courtney Bober (Chair)-San Jose Cathedral Foundation

We discussed that the barriers our clients face to finding and retaining employment are great and many.  Along those lines, the cost of a CA ID has been raised from $6 to $20, the cost of a CA Driver's License has been raised from $12 to $19, the price of a printout remains the same at $5.  Also, transportation needs are great and expensive for our clients.  Althought the VTA continues to struggle itself, its riders are using public transportation typically because they have no other transportation options, not because they are particularly environmentally conscious.  This directly affects our clients since for many of them public transportation is their only means of transportation.

Santa Clara Adult Ed is serving many individuals that are just coming out of jail and are put into SLE's for 30 days and need to find employment within that time fram.  Alison shared that at SCAE they are able to place individuals into no-cost training programs, such as-basic computer skills, accounting, or even hi-tech areas.  Jennifer shared that at EHC they also have basic computer skills classes on Mondays and Thursdays from 9-11 a.m.  It was also mentioned that Sunnyvale's Adult Education and the Black Chamber of Commerce also offer computer classes.

We discussed that due to the fact that there are few jobs out there for a great many, training programs or paid apprenticeship programs are a good alternative for our clients.  The apprenticeship programs are great and they are paid.  Alison shared that the cement masons have been accepting people lately.  She also shared a contact at the South Bay Labor Council, a community liasion, that may be able to help out a union member that is low on funds through the support of other union members chipping in a little extra to help someone out with tools or dues.

We would like to establish a larger, active group.  In this interest, we decided to contact old members that used to actively attend committee meetings and invite them to rejoin our group.  Namely, Jobs Plus (Alison), Catholic Charities (Kate), Sacred Heart Community Services (Courtney), One Stop (Courtney & Kate), Goodwill Industries (Nancy), Employment Connection (Gavin), NOVA (Nancy), and others.  We are going to contact these organizations and invite them to our next meeting.

While looking over the 5-year plan, we thought that we might need to take an active role to secure employment for our clients by identifying sources of entry-level positions and develop relationships with companies, labor agencies, or possibly the Chamber of Commerce.  We took a look at all companies in the community that need someone to empty their trash, clean their offices, etc.  Small companies and restaurants may be good places to start.  Alison shared that Metro PCS in Morgan Hill is a good company to work for with basic geographic knowledge of the area; employees direct and connect callers to the listing the caller is looking for.  Ultimately, we feel that, as a committee identifying sources of possible employment for our clients is a good place to focus our efforts.

Next meeting to be held at Second Start, 3002 Leigh Ave. (corner of Leigh and Foxworthy) on February 17th 11:30 a.m.-don't forget your lunch!