GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Helping women with a tough past on a path forward to a promising future. That's the goal of a program at Dégagé Ministries, working to break the cycle of homelessness and empower women to thrive in the workforce.
Eileen Smar loves serving others at Dégagé Ministries in Grand Rapids. She went there in January, seeking help after leaving an abusive relationship, struggling to take care of her disabled son and losing her apartment.
“When I arrived at Dégagé, I was a broken person, really in all aspects,” said Smar.
Since then, she’s been thriving not only personally, but professionally.
“Before I started, I didn't feel employable. I had a big gap in my employment history because of taking care of my son's needs, and I thought, 'How am I ever going to get my feet wet again and get somewhere?'” said Smar.
She learned how through a workforce development program offered at Dégagé. It’s a partnership with career coach Sharon Hayward, who’s passionate about teaching women how to be successful and feel empowered.
“I've been volunteering here at Dégagé and I kind of put two and two together and said, 'I bet it would be really useful for the patrons there to learn how to feel more of their own value,'” said Hayward.
For six weeks, the women meet weekly for an hour, learning everything from avoiding self sabotage, dealing with discouragement, healthy daily habits, and more.
“It's figuring out 'What do I want to do?' 'What skills do I bring?' And then putting together everything that you bring in that field, figuring out what your goals are, and then what you need to do,” explained Hayward.
Her book "Winning at Work", journals to write down daily wins and various worksheets are tools she uses to educate and encourage.
The workforce development program has an external component serving around 250 people a year; helping them get their resumes together, practice interview skills, and connecting them to various employment partners in town. The internal component employs anywhere from five to ten people at Dégagé.
“They're really trying to regain their confidence and update their skills, especially since technology and just the workplace has changed so much,” said Thelma Ensink, executive director at Dégagé.
It’s all helped Smar learn, grow, and prepare for her future in the workforce.
“My self esteem has just skyrocketed, my mental health is 100% better, I feel like I'm contributing something positive,” said Smar.
Out of the 250 participants in the program, Dégagé sees about an 80% success rate. It partners with places like Van Andel Arena and Corewell Health to help them find jobs. You can learn more about the workforce development program here.
