It took a lot for Mariana Gonzalez of Cahokia, a mother of three small children, to get to the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Head Start/Early Head Start Program’s Career Orientation and Job Fair on Oct. 21.
“My babysitter fell through at the last moment, but they said I could bring my children. And I’m so glad I came,” said Gonzalez. Her two-year-old son, Jeiker, is in SIUE’s Head Start/Early Head Start home-based program option and her six-year-old daughter, Yareli, was a student at the Cahokia Head Start Center. Gonzalez’s eight-year-old daughter, Marieli, was not a Head Start student.
“I need a job, and it’s hard to find one when you have a high school diploma and three small children to raise on your own,” she said. “I like the information and motivation they gave today. It helps to see the various agencies here that are willing to help people like me.”
The career and job fair featured practical tips, advice and inspiration from such speakers as: G. Lynnie Bailey, SIUE Head Start/Early Head Start program director; Jesse Dixon, SIUE East St. Louis Center executive director; Rick Stubblefield, St. Clair County Intergovernmental Grants; and Jenita Hladyshewsky, Connections to Success.
Agencies on site to offer job leads, tips and information included: Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation, St. Clair County, Southwestern Illinois College, Hire Level, and Illinois Central School Bus.
“I ran my own taxicab business for a while until business got slow,” said Head Start parent August Thompson. Her two-year-old daughter, Mary Newton, is in SIUE Early Head Start home-based program option. “I’m here because I want to go back to school and study business technology.”
“We hope the news will spread that if you are in a job that does not allow you to make a living wage and support your family or if you are currently in a job that is not fulfilling and want to grow professionally, the SIUE Head Start/Early Head Start program can help,” Bailey said. “Everyone has obstacles in life. We are here to help you face and overcome those challenges.”
Johanna Wharton, SIUE East St. Louis Center director of New Program Initiatives, told the audience about Maggie Lena Walker, an African American teacher and businesswoman who became the first woman of any race to be a president of and charter a bank. Later in life, Walker became disabled by paralysis and limited by a wheelchair. Her home in Richmond, Va., is a national historic site.
“The secret to success is you,” Wharton said. “Are you willing to work to get over them? We are here to help you today with your career toolbox. You have an opportunity to form new relationships and begin putting new and effective items into your toolbox.”
“The parents who send their children to SIUE East St. Louis Center programs are talented, hardworking, and committed, but many cannot find jobs to meet their needs,” said Jesse Dixon, executive director of the SIUE East St. Louis Center. “Meanwhile employers in the Metro East are struggling to fill good jobs in fields such as advanced manufacturing, IT, health sciences, and early childhood education. Our goal with this effort is to make the necessary connections between scholarships, job training programs, and employers so that our SIUE Head Start/Early Head Start families can reach their educational and career goals.”
The SIUE Head Start/Early Head Start program serves more than 1,400 families and children from birth to age five including children with special needs, throughout St. Clair County. The program includes 14 early childhood centers, seven managed directly and seven collaborations. Services include a rigorous school readiness program, educational programs for family members, and health and dental screenings.