“I haven’t checked my email in about 6 months!” said Nathan as he entered into the Resource Center for the first time. Nathan is one of the many clients that the Millionair Club serves on an average day. As a veteran, he found himself homeless about 10 years ago and has been struggling to get back on track for some time. Thanks to the veteran assistance programs in Seattle as well as gaining employment skills from the Millionair Club, he is now living in an affordable housing complex town and is starting on the road to self-sufficiency.
After helping Nathan to log into his account again, the inbox count popped up to be above 18,000 new messages! As I helped him go through his mail, together we found many important messages he had received months ago. Many of those emails were time sensitive but Nathan was unable to gain access to a computer. That’s where the new Resource Center comes in at the Millionair Club.
Being a job referral agency and working towards its clients being self-sufficient, the Millionair Club has recently added a Resource Center for its clients. It provides a total of four computers that access the internet, are installed with Microsoft Office Suite, and will soon have a typing program for people to work on their typing skills. In today’s world, it is impossible to progress in the job market without computer skills. Technology has found its way into every profession imaginable and often time if an individual does not have basic knowledge of these skills their opportunity to gain full-time employment is greatly reduced.
With the Resource Center, the Millionair Club hopes to provide an opportunity to their clients to gain access to resources online, partake in computer skill trainings, and interact with community members who are experts in these areas. I am excited to see how the club develops the Resource Center in the next year to better service clients as they gain more and more skills through their day labor employment.
In addition to Nathan, I had the opportunity to interact with numerous other clients in my three days at the club. Charles for example used the resource center to apply and search for job opportunities and went to an open interview the same day. Several clients were able to understand the process of getting a state photo ID so that they could start working. Another gentleman by the name of Sam (who convinced me to join the military in the next 2 years if I’m not employed) was excited to start learning computer skills so he could navigate job searches for himself.
Sometimes it is as simple as providing resources that the majority of us take for granted to individuals that can help them to advance themselves towards self-sufficiency. Opportunity and access to resources play a huge role in developing chronic homelessness in today’s society. If everyone was given the same opportunities or afforded equal resources, then and only then could we blame someone’s economic state off of their actions alone. Until then we need to start critically analyzing what structures are in place in today’s society that cause individuals to fall below a defined poverty line, and in turn become homeless. I encourage you to ask these questions the next time you sign on to your computer to read my blog. Try working without a computer for a week and see how messed up your life becomes.
Cheers & Happy Browsing
Bryan
After helping Nathan to log into his account again, the inbox count popped up to be above 18,000 new messages! As I helped him go through his mail, together we found many important messages he had received months ago. Many of those emails were time sensitive but Nathan was unable to gain access to a computer. That’s where the new Resource Center comes in at the Millionair Club.
Being a job referral agency and working towards its clients being self-sufficient, the Millionair Club has recently added a Resource Center for its clients. It provides a total of four computers that access the internet, are installed with Microsoft Office Suite, and will soon have a typing program for people to work on their typing skills. In today’s world, it is impossible to progress in the job market without computer skills. Technology has found its way into every profession imaginable and often time if an individual does not have basic knowledge of these skills their opportunity to gain full-time employment is greatly reduced.
With the Resource Center, the Millionair Club hopes to provide an opportunity to their clients to gain access to resources online, partake in computer skill trainings, and interact with community members who are experts in these areas. I am excited to see how the club develops the Resource Center in the next year to better service clients as they gain more and more skills through their day labor employment.
In addition to Nathan, I had the opportunity to interact with numerous other clients in my three days at the club. Charles for example used the resource center to apply and search for job opportunities and went to an open interview the same day. Several clients were able to understand the process of getting a state photo ID so that they could start working. Another gentleman by the name of Sam (who convinced me to join the military in the next 2 years if I’m not employed) was excited to start learning computer skills so he could navigate job searches for himself.
Sometimes it is as simple as providing resources that the majority of us take for granted to individuals that can help them to advance themselves towards self-sufficiency. Opportunity and access to resources play a huge role in developing chronic homelessness in today’s society. If everyone was given the same opportunities or afforded equal resources, then and only then could we blame someone’s economic state off of their actions alone. Until then we need to start critically analyzing what structures are in place in today’s society that cause individuals to fall below a defined poverty line, and in turn become homeless. I encourage you to ask these questions the next time you sign on to your computer to read my blog. Try working without a computer for a week and see how messed up your life becomes.
Cheers & Happy Browsing
Bryan
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