“I always thought it was cool how different medicine helps people, and I always wanted to help people.” - Jasmine has always had an interest in medicine. She came to AACF last year through her Pharmacy Technician training program at PharmT Prep LLC when her instructor connected her with financial aid resources. AACF was one of them. Through AACF Jasmine was able to receive funding to cover her Pharmacy Technician training courses, plus much more.

Since Jasmine completed her Pharmacy Technician training, AACF case manager Chuckita Smith has connected her with a paid internship at a Walgreens pharmacy near her home. Jasmine is grateful for Chuckita’s assistance in helping her to complete her Pharmacy Technician training, receive financial aid from AACF to cover the cost of her training courses at PharmT Prep LLC, checking in with her on a regular basis to see how things are going, connect her with resources and send her to job fairs.

“[Chuckita’s assistance] was extremely helpful for passing my classes because I have two kids. I didn’t have enough funds to pay for things because I wasn’t working during the summer.” - Jasmine

Jasmine currently works full time for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and is off during the summer. Jasmine’s role with CPS is administering COVID tests at different sites throughout the school system. Last year she worked for CPS as a care room attendant, overseeing a room in a school where children go if they may be positive for COVID to wait until a parent is able to pick them up. Previous employment for Jasmine has included security, receptionist, grocery store worker, and home care aid. As a teen mom she tapped into assistance from UCAN, a local non profit dedicated to supporting youth and families, for after school jobs and summer jobs.

Jasmine is no stranger to hard work and is savvy at accessing resources for assistance when needed. Grateful for the help she has received from AACF, Jasmine has encouraged her friends and her two younger sisters to reach out to AACF for job training and job finding assistance.

Jasmine just needs to pass the state board exam for Pharmacy Technician to become fully licensed and then she will be eligible for pharmacy positions paying $23 hour plus benefits. We are glad you reached out to us, Jasmine - and proud of you for all of your hard work and what you have been able to accomplish! Good luck on your state boards!

Having grown up on the West Side and experiencing violence in his neighborhood Tey is no stranger tohard times in Chicago. Tey entered into the AACF Youth Workforce Development Program at the age of 18 and received assistance with completing high school earning an award in the program for that. The program provided Tey with all around job readiness training and work experience in a variety of jobs including factory work, street sanitation, and with a Chicago Park District facility. He is grateful for these experiences and for the support that he received early on in AACF. “It gave me a lot of hope,” said Tey of the AACF program.

Growing up in a turbulent neighborhood had an impact on Tey. In the past year he had a gun case resolved with the assistance of a case manager from UCAN, a local organization with the mission to assist youth to recover from trauma. And during this year when Tey was experiencing homelessness as he has struggled with homeslessnes in the past, he reached out to AACF and received assistance from the AACF Housing Program. After completing a housing assessment and other paperwork, he was immediately placed in housing in the North Lawndale community of Chicago’s West Side and received financial assistance with securing furnishings. Additional assistance from AACF has included transportation fees and job training. And working with a case manager he landed a position as a farmer for the Chicago Botanic Garden Windy City Harvest urban farming program. In this job Tey receives good pay with benefits, both medical and dental. It is a job that Tey truly enjoys. “This is the only job I’ve worked in this long, for six months. Growing vegetables, dealing with the earth, it’s therapy in a way.” - Tey, on his work in farming for Windy City Harvest. Tey plans to complete additional training to obtain his farming license with the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

Tey exemplifies the strength and courage of reaching out for assistance. We are grateful that Teyhas reached out for help among many others. If you or someone you know is in need of housing assistance, job training, or help with finding a job please reach out to us. We are only a phone call away! 708-848-1700

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AACF Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Program services are made possible by the generous support of the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) Illinois Youth Investment Program.

 

AACF congratulates youth client Michael on his recent employment offer as Expungement Clerk with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, located in the Daley Center, downtown in the Chicago Loop. We are very proud of your accomplishments Michael!

Michael joined the AACF Youth Workforce Development Program in 2016, not long after graduating from Urban Prep High School located in Chicago’s Near West Side and hearing about the program from a high school friend. After learning about the Youth Workforce Development Program he called the office and made an appointment to come in and speak with Program Director Tami Yarborough. Tami discovered Michael’s interests with a pre-assessment test and paired him with a case manager who then placed him in a paid internship with State Farm as a customer service agent, answering phones and reaching out to customers to remind them of due dates and pre-qualify them for insurance.

After one year working as an intern at State Farm Michael was hired on permanently. When the firm closed Michael reached out to AACF again for job finding assistance and was connected with Allied Universal where he worked in security and later with a call center for Americash Loans.

When Michael experienced unemployment in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic began he reached out to AACF once again and was placed in a paid internship with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County located in the Daley Center downtown in the Chicago Loop. Working as a case filer making sure that judges have their cases for the day he enjoyed the work and applied for a permanent position in June of last year. Last month Michael received a letter offering employment with the Clerk and was excited to accept the offer.

Currently Michael is in training for his new position, learning the ins and outs of the role by visiting the various courtrooms to get the broad overview of the Daley Center. He has taken creative writing courses at Indiana State College and uses his writing skills in his new role where he will assist judges in serving people who petition to have their records expunged, cleared and sealed. He is grateful for his new position working for Cook County and is excited for growth opportunities working in the Circuit Court.

Michael has referred several of his friends to the youth workforce development program and expresses his gratitude for the employment assistance he has received stating: “I feel AACF has helped me tremendously. I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am now if it weren’t for AACF.”

Job Success During Lockdown

AACF would like to congratulate Devon for his recent promotion and raise in his security position that he began this year. Even though growing up in Englewood in Chicago’s south side had its challenges for Devon - he describes the commonplace sound of gunshots, being shot at himself, and attending funerals regularly - he did well when he transferred from his local high school to an alternative school. He began working for UPS while in high school and continued after graduating. But after two years of near minimum wage and being given only part time hours as is customary for hourly employees at UPS he quit in search of better opportunities. And after trying out his hand at a variety of factories with no better pay or opportunities - a good friend told him about AACF’s Workforce Development Program - which Devon refers to as the Program.

Devon joined AACF’s Workforce Development Program at the beginning of last summer, shortly after his 20th birthday. After attending the program’s weeklong orientation he was told that he should already have his driver’s license (he did not have it at this point). Thus he was sent to driving school where he obtained his driver’s license. Later in the year he was sent to Securitas, the internationally-based security company, for job training. He began his training with the company in early January just as the COVID-19 pandemic was brewing in the US. He completed his training and was placed in a security position in a 20 floor building in South Loop right before lockdown occurred in mid-March.

Devon receives full medical, dental, and vision insurance through Securitas and loves his job working in the high rise in the South Loop. “You get to meet nice people,” says Devon about his work as a security guard in the apartment building, used mainly as a luxury AirBnB by its owners. He describes assisting people with remembering their door codes, as many of the people are visiting the city, as well as being instructed to spend some of his shift in the storage room as part of social distancing for the quarantine.

Devon now refers many of his friends to AACF, just as he was referred to the Program by a friend. He tells them: “If you are looking for a job, or just trying to stay out of trouble you should go there - if you need a job, or even if you need bus fare to get to that job - they’ll help you. There’s no excuse. It’s free help, you’re guaranteed. They’ll help you to find a job. You just have to go there and keep in contact with them.”

He describes the help he received at AACF beyond his driver’s license and a secure job, life skills such as money management and making important decisions. Unfortunately his mother passed away this past year. Devon his hoping to move out of his neighborhood, hopefully closer to his job or to a safe suburb. He knows AACF will be there for him for help, and he would like to thank AACF for taking the time to help him, for calling the people who helped him, and for sending him to them. Great job Devon on securing a good position with Securitas and for making it work for yourself - especially now, during the COVID-19 Pandemic!

 

Opportunities to Work During the Pandemic

Darnell came to AACF just a month ago in April when the country was in complete lockdown from the COVID-19 pandemic. In need of work during an undoubtedly tough situation for everyone, with countless people laid off from work, or losing jobs entirely, he had heard of the Workforce Development Program offered by AACF from a good friend who had gone through the program and who is currently employed in a good job.

Darnell took the plunge and called the office from his home quarantine. After a few conversations over the phone and sending in his work history and high school diploma he was placed in a work internship at a Walgreens in the Bridgeport neighborhood near his home. Through the work internship he is gaining marketable customer service skills as well as the skills involved in working in a store - those considered essential services.

Darnell’s previous work history has included working in the package department of UPS/FedEx and temping at a meat packing factory. Both jobs involved a lot of heavy lifting, with limited breaks, near minimum wage, and only being given part time hours - very challenging to live on and near to none as far as opportunities for advancing.

Through the work internship program with AACF Darnell is paid a living wage. He has applied to the company Securitas, a lead given to him by friends who have gone through the Workforce Development Program at AACF and have been placed and employed at the security company. Many of them have risen to higher grounds with promotions and raises. As he anticipates hearing back from Securitas Darnell is not worried; he knows where to go for assistance in seeking either a job or another internship. He has referred friends to the program as well, paying forward the favor of the friend who told him about AACF’s Workforce Development Program - and who gave him encouragement to reach out, even during the roughest of times.