Loading...
Junior college program helps women at crossroads (Times) 1986Junior c,:,.".,,lege program helps women a 411� 34 Business/ Day 1 Sue Stapleton has been named instructor/counselor for the Crossroads project, a program sponsored by the Palm Beach Junior College Continuing Edu- cation Division to help dis- placed homemakers gain the skills and cgnfiden,ce needed to enter the job market. Prior to this appointment, Ms. Stapleton ws a teacher/counselor in the adult education program of the f Alexandria School Board in ' Kentucky. Sara Yarick, currently branch manager of the Palm Beach Gardens office of Florida Na- tional Bank has been appointed vice president. Mrs. Yarick cut- rently is an instructor with the American Institute of Banking at Palm Beach Junior College; a member of the American Asso- ciation of University Women, t.h_e National .!'Association of Banking Women; and the Palm Beach Gardens Chamber of Commerce. t cr. By Judi Grove Times Staff Writer ` very first thing we tell then explains Sue Stapleton, "we Th,elenge them to change. "And one of the best things is the power they within themselves." Mrs. Stapleton is speaking of the clients who con her seeking help in entering or re-entering the job mar- ket. As director of the Crossroads program at Balm Beach Junior College in Lake Worth, Mrs. Stapleton helps women who, because of divorce or widowhood, find themselves on the outside'looking in at a job market that has seemingly passed them by. The women who come to Crossroads may be skilled or unskilled. But lack of marketable abilities maybe the least of the problems the displaced homem:�ker faces, Mrs. Stapleton emphasizes. "Lots of times the woman will have had a really good career, loved her career very much. But ... she hasn't worked in 15 years." The women often come. to the. Crossroads program in a state of emotional disrepair, having found themselves alone apd on their own after years of staying home in a nurturing role. A death or divorce may add to the trauma they experience and to the fear that they will not be able to survive. And what can the Crossroads program do for such a person? "We teach them how to get the job," explains Mrs. Stapleton. "We can't promise to find them a job, although we are sometimes able to find a place for some of them." "In most cases, it's the confidence factor that's lack- ing. Once they have the confidence, they can get the job. And .they can do the job. "As far as statistics go, 35 percent have jobs immedi- ately upon completion of the program, within a month of COUNCILWO - MAN JUDY PIERMAN tosses out one of the ceremonial 1st pitches to start North Palm Beach. NORTH PALM BEACH Recreation Counselor Jana Plerman checks her attend- ance roster for the 5 & 6 year olds. Photo by Bill Meeks �8(0 JunIor college pr-ogram helps women at crossroads of ALLEN EYESTONE/The Evening runes Sue Stapleton, director of Crossroads program, teaches women how to get jobs By Judi Grove Times Staff Writer very first thing we tell them is," explains Sue Stapleton, "we chal- lenge them to change. "And one of the best things is the power they find within themselves." Mrs. Stapleton is speaking of the clients who come to her seeking help in entering or re-entering the job mar- ket. As director of the Crossroads program at Palm Beach Junior College in Lake Worth, Mrs. Stapleton helps women who, because of divorce or widowhood, find themselves on the outside looking in at a job market that has seemingly passed them by. The women who come to Crossroads may be skilled or unskilled. But lack of marketable abilities may be the least of the problems the displaced homemaker faces, Mrs. Stapleton emphasizes. "Lots of times the woman will have had a really good career, loved her career very much. But ... she hasn't worked in 15 years." The women often come. to the,Crossroads program in a state of emotional disrepair, having found themselves alone a#d on their own after years of staying home in a nurturing role. A death or divorce may add to the trauma they experience and to the fear that they will not be able to survive. And what can the Crossroads program do for such a person? "We teach them how to get the job," explains Mrs. Stapleton. "We can't promise to find them a job, although we are sometimes able to find a place for some of them." "In most cases, it's the confidence f actor that's lack- ing. Once they have the confidence, they can get the job. And .they can do the job. "As fax as statistics go, 35 percent have jobs immedi- ately upon completion of the program, within a month of life A graduation. And a total of 75 percent have jobs within three to six months. I "What is really gratifying, though, is the positive changes I see the women go through in just the few weeks they're here." Part of the success may be due to the thoroughness of the program. Skills in negotiating, communicating, managing stress, problem solving and goal setting• complement the very strong confidence -building course. Techniques in interviewing, networking, tracking down positions that may ivot be advertised and training in resume and cover letter writing are the concrete aspects. Women meeting other women in the same situation is an important aspect of the period of adjustment, too. "There's a great feeling of camaraderie that they didn't expect to find," Mrs. Stapleton adds. "That greatly speeds up the rebuilding process." The program is open to women over 35 whose mar- riages have ended. There is no fee for the intensive two- week course, which meets from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. For some women, for a variety of reasons, the pro- gram may be inaccessible ... for now. But nobody is turned away, Mrs. Stapleton hastens to add. "If a woman comes in and she's not ready for our program, she'll be directed to another help program. Anybody who comes in will be helped in some way. "Some women are not able to attend the day classes, so I'm working em� ag night classes, too, beginning in Septpml�- ve written another grant to include ,Yo want or need to go back to work." p.m., Crossroads graduates will have a _....Lst reunion in John Prince Park. It'll be a brown bag supper ... "just to network with other grads, swap success stories and say, `Is there anything else we can do for you?' " Any displaced homemaker with an interest in Cross- roads can telephone Mrs. Stapleton at 433-5995. The nQxt session begins July 11.