"Seniors R The Answer"

During COVID, the world changed incredibly fast. Nationwide, many people are facing immense challenges to finding meaningful employment opportunities. Beyond that, adults in the middle/later stages of their careers must overcome substantial and unique challenges when navigating their career paths. 
In the Cleveland, Ohio, area and surrounding counties, there is a distinct need for services with wraparound resources that are tailored to this community. We estimate there are 10,000 unemployed adults over the age of 50 in our county alone.
Successful programs must account for countless challenges, including social isolation and participant mental wellness, transportation & accessibility needs, food & nutrition, rapidly evolving technology & associated knowledge gaps, individual participant needs, and more; doing so requires a dedicated & excellent team, a committed network of partners, a good bit of luck, and so much more - including funding, of course! 

Our program is a call center and customer service training program that provides varied wraparound services to address the social determinants of health affecting our focus demographic: working adults in the mid/late stages of their careers (ages 50+). 

Participants are offered personal development & mentorship opportunities, are provided an hourly stipend with transportation assistance offered, and participate in regular nutrition classes and a quarterly cooking class, all while receiving quality classroom instruction tailored to their learning needs! Additionally, participants learn customer service (“soft”) skills, update their resumes, practice in mock interviews, and submit at least 10 job applications (according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, it takes up to ten applications for 47% of applicants to get one-to-two interviews).

As we enter the second phase of this successful program, we are establishing a call center in our own offices to create jobs dedicated to program graduates who may need hands-on experience to earn a lasting position elsewhere. As we grow, we will continue to check in with our participants/graduates to ensure the program remains tailored to their needs. We are also working on establishing an area “Career Services Partner Network” to create a comprehensive net of support services.

Post-COVID, for folks fifty and better, changes to the world that they have known for decades are difficult to adapt to without dedicated support. Unexpected and prolonged job loss followed by a wave of new technologies, evolutions in work industries, and growing barriers to lasting community have created major challenges for folks over fifty who have the most difficulty adapting to this new world and the social isolation that comes with it.

In the Cuyahoga area, there are only a small handful of services dedicated to this population, and there is no major support service network for employment programs dedicated to adults in the mid/late stages of their careers. Unfortunately, much of the population we serve feels like many of the existing organizations aren't actually dedicated to helping folks and "never get back to you".

Our program endeavors to grow into a scalable solution to these challenges by offering a training program with wraparound services that meet the individual & collective needs of our participants by providing opportunities to improve both their ability & stability in various ways. From here, we foresee this program as a foundation block of a larger area partner network for collaborative area services.

Encore Employment Enterprises, Inc. is well suited to deliver this solution because we have already shown success in the first phase of the program and have the opportunity to continually improve the program as we identify & address the evolving needs of our focus population. Our team provides a variety of services to this community, and we continually maintain dedication to adapting our programs to meet the unique needs of the individuals we serve. As a Black woman, our Team Lead (Simone McNitt, Executive Director) is representative of the population served by our organization; of the 213 people served last year, 86% were women, and 73% identified as Black/African-American. Additionally, Simone has a certified background in human resources, has been the director of a call center, and has brought a call center IT contractor onto the program team. Please visit our YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@E3encore) to view testimonials from the folks we serve.

In addition to the frequent informal conversations between program participants and staff, every participant in the training program completes an entrance and exit survey where they have the opportunity to provide feedback on the program and report their individual progress results. For example, 17 out of 19 graduates (89%) from the first six months of the program indicated increased confidence and self-efficacy in their surveys.

Additionally, we received many requests from program participants and non-participants (within and beyond state borders) to improve accessibility by providing evening training sessions and online workshops. As we enter the program's second phase, we are implementing these suggestions by hosting our first evening cohort in Q1 2025 and developing the online workshop lesson plan and schedule to begin in Q2 2025.

Our training program is up and running, with the curriculum and class schedules set for each six-week session. So far, we are in our third session of the program: 19 participants have graduated, 11 of which were hired by affiliate organizations, in addition to 1 graduate who has become our first “On-The-Job Trainee” (a 63% placement rate). 

We are also well underway on the development of our “Career Services Partner Network” and have had success partnering with a large handful of dedicated organizations who are assisting us with providing wraparound services for our participants. For example, “Grandparents Raising Grandchildren” offers childcare, “Livable Cuyahoga” offers opportunities for community events, and “LEAP” (Linking Employment Abilities and Potential) provides nutrition & healthy food workshops as part of our curriculum. We also have a strong partnership with our local AARP branch, a vital cornerstone of our Career Services Partner Network.

Additionally, we have established affiliations with 11  businesses and other organizations who regularly share their open positions with us so that our graduates can earn placement in those jobs

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Our program is a game changer compared to other services offered in our area; rather than paint in broad strokes and letting folks slip through the cracks, we are focused on getting the finer details right and creating a service with a built-in safety net that treats every participant as an individual with unique, fulfillable needs.

One major example of our innovative approach is that we provide hourly stipends of $14 to directly alleviate the financial struggles of our participants while they are training; over the course of the program, participants can expect to earn a total of $1344 (four hours a day, four days a week, for six weeks). 

From there, we take a unique approach: if a graduate is not hired for one of the (at least) ten positions that they applied for through the program, they will have the opportunity to work in a call center established in our building dedicated for program graduates; this will provide them the opportunity to earn hands-on job experience to overcome that significant barrier of inexperience that they may be facing.

A major component of our solution is the Career Services Partner Network that we are establishing in conjunction with area service partners. We aim to change our local landscape by bringing together organizations from various disciplines and focus areas to establish a comprehensive care network for our participants and broader focus population. In doing so, we will simultaneously improve the overall service benefits to area residents through this collaborative service effort. Additionally, after further growth and support, this program will be distinctly replicable in communities across the country.

“Eliminate Age-Related Gaps in the Hiring Process” – By providing technical training, social skills, physical & mental wellness workshops, and more, we aim to eliminate the unique barriers that adults in the mid/late stages of their careers face compared to their younger counterparts. We measure this goal quantitatively by comparing the hiring rates of our graduates compared to the overall hiring rates of their age bracket (50+). Additionally, we focus on the difference in self-reported participant scores from entrance vs. exit surveys regarding their confidence & self-efficacy.

“Establish a Comprehensive Tailored Solution” – By creating a program that addresses each contributing factor to the overall problem, we can minimize the negative effects of those factors on our participants, thus maximizing their potential success. For example, compared to other programs, this solution is much easier for participants to enter; we have a lower age limit with no poverty status requirements, provide an hourly stipend during training to offset financial burden, and offer a variety of wraparound services to support participant needs. Likewise, we only affiliate with businesses that will consider waiving education requirements in exchange for years of experience and that pay at least $12 an hour to start. We measure this goal off of participant satisfaction as well as the number of services/partnerships/affiliates added each quarter.

“Emphasize Individual & Collective Participant Needs” – By ensuring that we provide a personal touch to each of our participants, we create an environment of trust and respect between our participants and staff, which in turn uplifts the participants’ inherent ability to support themselves. This goal is measured by the unique and heartwarming interactions we have with our participants and by the number of individual accommodations that we provide to both participants and graduates.

Full-time (2): Executive Director & Program Assistant. Part-time (0). Contractors (6): Classroom Facilitator, IT Specialist, Social Media Specialist, Grant Writer/Strategist, Accounting & Payroll Specialist, and Outreach Specialist. On The Job Trainee (1): Program Graduate On-The-Job Trainee.

Planning for this program began in 2023, and after funding was secured (May & July 2024), we began offering the program to candidates on July 8, 2024. As of January 2025, we are in our third six-week series of the program

This solution was conceptualized before Encore Employment Enterprise existed when Simone McNitt (Executive Director) was working for another nonprofit whose board lacked diversity, which caused major disconnections between the board, staff, and clients.

Simone’s sincere efforts to address these organizational issues were unsupported by leadership, so she chose to establish a new entity (Encore Employment Enterprises) where she immediately prioritized inviting board members to join the organization based on principles of diversity because she “wanted to make sure the people we serve could see themselves; that they were represented in our board and staff.”  https://www.e3encore.org/about 

One of the first board members recruited was Gulnar Feerasta (Board Secretary), who works for LGBT Cleveland, a local organization that supports the LGBTQIA2S+ community. Through this connection, all staff and board members participate in DEI training offered by LGBT Cleveland to ensure that the organization is attuned to the unique needs of this diverse community.

Just as our solution is tailored to the needs of the folks we serve, Simone is equally dedicated to ensuring that our staff’s individual needs are met to ensure we work in an equitable workplace. Our Program Assistant was told by her doctor that she needed to move after meals to improve her physical health. Without further question, Simone extended the staff member’s lunch hour to provide her the time she needs to take care of her health. 

Likewise, Simone has gone above and beyond to ensure that a formerly incarcerated program graduate receives the support she needs to overcome challenges specific to her intersectional identities. This individual received no substantial help from other organizations and was unable to secure employment after our program, so Simone established the first “Participant Trainee” position so that this individual could work in an affirming environment while she gathers in-position experience and navigates her post-carceral challenges. 

We provide a welcoming, affirming, and supportive in-person training course that is accessible and impactful for our participants. Through the program, participants gain technological skills, improve social (“soft”) skills, gain meaningful practice in a new work environment, work on their resumes and interview skills, and so much more. 
Perhaps one of the greatest benefits is that the folks we serve feel respected, taken care of, and supported; so many of our participants have described their attempts to get help from other organizations falling flat, which leaves them drained of energy and feeling hopeless. By sticking with them, we empower our participants towards confidence & self-efficacy in their abilities & place in the job market.
Once a participant has graduated from the program, we work with our business affiliates to place those individuals in meaningful, gainful employment. Each participant submits at least ten applications, which is typically required to receive at least one or two interviews.
For the folks who are still unsuccessful in acquiring a position after the training program has ended, we work to identify their individual gaps and then help to address those needs. For some folks, that looks like more time practicing interviews or acquiring further certification. Sometimes, graduates are unable to commute daily across town for a job, so we focus on pairing them with a workplace close to home or one that allows them to work remotely.
Other times, all that these folks are missing is in-position experience. Our solution for that challenge is to establish a call center of our own (in the same building where training takes place) that will establish dedicated “On-The-Job Trainee” positions for our graduates. We foresee these positions turning over within/around 6 months after graduates have established their ability to effectively manage their responsibilities.

The Truist Foundation Inspire Awards would be an ideal award for our program to win because, in addition to the options unlocked by a larger budget, we are actively seeking partner organizations to assist in the solidification, growth, and scale of the program. Our team has a firm dedication to shaping this program into one that provides maximum benefit and opportunity to our participants & graduates.

Beyond the funding offered, we are most excited about the opportunity for an expert needs analysis to further identify our growth edges & opportunities, as well as the opportunity to network and connect with a much broader selection of partners. Through these two offerings, along with the additional opportunities offered to finalists, we would be significantly better suited to providing a tailored, comprehensive, and impactful service for the folks in our area who are in desperate need of such a program. 
We recognize that we have built a solid foundation, and that this program has immense opportunity for success; however, our growth/improvement rate is limited by the size of our team, budget, and number of quality local partners. With increased funding, we could bring on additional contractors to increase our numbers served, among other major benefits. Through the partnerships offered, we could address any current gaps in our support services net. Ultimately, it is our goal to perfect our business model so that our program can be replicated elsewhere, improving the lives of mid/late-stage workers within & beyond our service area.

The Truist Foundation Inspire Awards would be an ideal award for our program to win because, in addition to the options unlocked by a larger budget, we are actively seeking partner organizations to assist in the solidification, growth, and scale of the program. Our team has a firm dedication to shaping this program into one that provides maximum benefit and opportunity to our participants & graduate.

Beyond the funding offered, we are most excited about the opportunity for an expert needs analysis to further identify our growth edges & opportunities, as well as the opportunity to network and connect with a much broader selection of partners. Through these two offerings, along with the additional opportunities offered to finalists, we would be significantly better suited to providing a tailored, comprehensive, and impactful service for the folks in our area who are in desperate need of such a program. 
We recognize that we have built a solid foundation, and that this program has immense opportunity for success; however, our growth/improvement rate is limited by the size of our team, budget, and number of quality local partners. With increased funding, we could bring on additional contractors to increase our numbers served, among other major benefits. Through the partnerships offered, we could address any current gaps in our support services net. Ultimately, it is our goal to perfect our business model so that our program can be replicated elsewhere, improving the lives of mid/late-stage workers within & beyond our service area.