‘The desire to work’
only need at EARN Center

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Michael Gathje said clients need just one thing when they visit the Northeast Employment Advancement Retention Network Center.
"The desire to work," the program director said.
The Northeast EARN Center, at 4739 Frankford Ave., opened last November but it took some time to put the final touches on the renovated 15,000-square-foot building.
Last week, the center held a grand-opening celebration/open house. Officials from the Department of Public Welfare were on hand, and proclamations were presented by the offices of Gov. Ed Rendell and Mayor John Street.
The agency, which seeks to find work for people, is located in a former unemployment office.
"The tie-in is pretty interesting," said Allison David, executive director of the Welfare to Work program for JEVS Human Services, a business-oriented nonprofit social-services agency that operates the center.
This is the third major venture into the Northeast for JEVS, which operates a career office at the JCC Klein Branch and Orleans Technical Institute. OTI will soon be moving from 1330 Rhawn St. to a location on Red Lion Road just east of Roosevelt Boulevard.
The EARN building includes an orientation classroom, two computer laboratories and a job-readiness lab. A representative of Child Care Information Services of Northeast Philadelphia is also on-site. And professionals are available to address children’s behavioral-health issues.
One of the walls is covered with a nine-panel, 100-foot-long mural that shows the art museum, Love Park, the Center City skyline and other Philadelphia attractions.
Funding for the center is provided by the Department of Public Welfare, which distributes the money to the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation.
The center, which employs 40 people, bills itself as a one-stop employment service for individuals receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) from the state.
There are 10 JEVS-operated EARN centers in the city. The goal is to open centers to serve all 18 county assistance offices in Philadelphia.
The individuals who visit the Northeast EARN Center are mostly females and are generally referred by the Unity District assistance office at 4111 Frankford Ave.
At the April 18 grand opening, two people walking the avenue stepped inside.
"They said, ‘We live in the area, and we need jobs,’" David said. "That is what we do."
Typically, a client will make an appointment, with enrollment sessions scheduled on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The staff at EARN is proactive, contacting clients to remind them of their appointments.
"We have a pretty good turnout," Gathje said.
Clients fill out paperwork and attend an orientation session. An assessment is made of their skills, aptitude, education, experience, interests and whatever issues they are facing.
"We take all that and start developing a plan," David said.
Clients work on a marketable resumé to land an entry-level job. Some are identified as being on the fast track to a job and are taught interviewing skills, financial management, "dressing for success" and how to use Internet job-search engines.
Those with little or no experience, or otherwise not quite ready for the workforce, are pointed toward training programs or GED preparation classes. JEVS will even supplement a client’s income for three months if a company is hesitant to make the hire for some reason.
There are eight staffers whose primary mission is to find work for clients. They work closely with hiring managers at businesses.
On average, the jobs filled by EARN clients pay $8.52 per hour. Seventy percent of the employees are eligible for medical benefits.
"We’re beating the minimum wage," said Gathje, adding that the state minimum wage will increase to $7.15 an hour on July 1.
In general, the jobs are in such fields as retail, security, housekeeping, billing, secretarial and telephone marketing. Many of the hires have been made by the city’s truancy program, the Brightside Academy child-care program and the Eckerd Distribution Center.
The folks at EARN feel rewarded when the clients are hired.
"People who walk through our doors want to work," Gathje said.
EARN seeks to place people in jobs with a minimum of 30 hours a week. After the hire is made, the agency monitors whether employees have their hours cut or are laid off.
"We aim to support people in the first six months of employment," Gathje said.
JEVS Services believes that the best way to help clients become long-term members of the workforce is to provide individualized employment services.
"Everybody is an individual," Gathje said, "but everybody has a common goal of employment." ••
The EARN Center welcomes visitors at 4739 Frankford Ave. (just south of Foulkrod Street). The center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays; 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. The telephone number is 267-350-8500. The e-mail address is earn@jevs.org
More information is available at www.jevs.org
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com