"The Phoenix class taught me about my personality and how some of my ideas had a negative effect on me," said John, who is now employed with a local company. "It's important that we meet the clients halfway," said Mike Rintelman, executive director of the Outreach Center.

MILWAUKEE, Wi. - In search of employment and some direction for his life, John turned to his parole officer.

The parole officer pointed the 49-year-old to The Milwaukee Outreach Center, an OBI-funded outreach that offers life skills programs and other classes for adults looking to change their lives.

"This is a process, but it has a profound effect upon your life," John said.

After completing the one-week, 40-hour intensive Phoenix Life Skills class, which is designed to motivate and empower individuals to achieve personal and vocational goals, John enrolled in a 12-week class called Equal Energy which offers mentoring and helps students find meaningful employment.

"The first phase is where we train clients in the basics of excelling in life and the work force," said Mike Rintelman, executive director of the Outreach Center.

In the second phase, clients have a chance to meet with a mentor, use the infrastructure to search for employment and develop new relationships. For every effort a client makes, the Phoenix team "responds with an equal effort," Rintelman said.

"It's important that we meet the clients halfway," he added.

John, who recently began a job at a medical linen company, attributes his current success to new ways of thinking learned during his time at the center.

"The Phoenix class taught me about my personality and how some of my ideas had a negative effect on me," John said. "In the end I was able to be positive and confident as I met with prospective employers, something I hadn't done before."

"Many programs are there for six weeks, then the clients graduate and that's it," Rintelman said. "That doesn't work, because challenges hit them when we're not around anymore."

"Three months later a challenge or a trial arises," he continued, "and that's when they need the advice and support of a mentor. That's what we provide."

HOW YOU CAN HELP

This microenterprise venture is one of many Operation Blessing projects touching lives around the world. You can be a part of improving the quality of life for impoverished communities by supporting these and other life-changing programs.

 

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