Just Get A Job

Growing up in working class America, I often scoffed at people who were living off of the welfare system. The idea was, if I have to work for everything I have, why doesn't everybody. However, now that I'm a little older and have become more involved, I see some of the problems that nobody ever thinks about.

1. Generational Poverty: Some people have been born into a family that was born into a family that has been unemployed. Their grandparents are on government programs, and their parents are on those same programs and now instead of being trained on how to do better in life, they are trained on how to apply for government programs.

2. Substance Abuse: When some people are "down on their luck" and they don't see any solutions, they seek to relieve their anxieties by self medicating with alcohol or drugs. While I don't condone this practice, I can see the problems. Now if they were to be considered for a job, they would have to pass a drug screening which they can't do so they turn back to the substance abuse for comfort when it's the problem.

3. Felony Convictions: Nobody wants to deal with someone who has been to prison, but they don't stay in prison forever. Once released from prison, they have "paid their debt to society", but not really. Society rejects many of these people, so where do they turn to provide a means of living if they can't get a legitimate job? They will usually go back to the same life of crime because they feel they don't have many options.

4. The Delay Of Adulthood: There is another group of people who grew up with no chores, no responsibilities, no after school jobs, and no plans for the future. We joke about the 30 year old guy living in moms basement playing video games, but it's no laughing matter. If you've been unemployed for more than a year and you're over the age of 25 and not in school, it's concerning to employers and they want to know what's wrong with this person. By the age of 30, if you haven't held a job more than six months, you really look defective.

If you've had the same job for the past 10 years, you may not realize how difficult it is to get a job now days. Gone are the days of the 10 minute interview with a supervisor and start Monday after shaking hands. Employers hire HR. professionals to weed out candidates that they feel are high risk, that's why I refer to HR as Human Rejectors.

At The Discipleship Center, we take clients and teach them about responsibility, time management, working well with others, and fulfilling obligations while at the same time teaching them about our God who is over they every day situations you face and how we should be following Jesus in everything we do. In the nine months we have them as interns they will earn a certificate in biblical studies, we will help them establish their resume with us being their most recent employer, we give them a letter of recommendation, and we help them start looking for their next job.

We can't do this without your help though. We are still looking to launch this program and need your support to get off the ground. Take a look at our website at www.discipleshipctr.org to see how you can help today.