Those Who Need it Most

I had been a National Health Corps Florida member serving at The Sulzbacher Center for three months when I met “Mary.”  Mary was staying at our homeless shelter and I met her while she was applying for jobs everyday in the computer lab I moderate.

Anyone who’s ever applied for a job online knows how frustrating it can be. You attach your résumé, but you still have to manually type in 10 years of work history. Applications for the dollar store include a math test. The ones for a local grocery store include a Myers--Briggs style personality assessment. You can spend an hour filling out an application, but then hit the back button by mistake and have to start over.

For Mary, filling out an application was especially challenging. Like many of our residents, she had very little experience using computers. Frequently, she would be unable to finish an application in the three hours of lab time a day, because she was painstakingly typing with a single finger. She’d come back the next day and be unable to finish where she left off because she forgot her username. We’d call customer service and get the username, but have no idea how many spaces and capital letters were in her password.

It was frustrating for me. Being a stereotypical millennial, I was raised on computers. I just couldn’t wrap my head around how difficult it was for Mary. Why does she have CAPS LOCK on? How did she forget her password again? Why can’t she just type faster? In a moment of weakness I (confidentially) vented to a friend.

“Yeah, well, there’s no helping some people,” my friend had responded.

This statement ran into the face of everything the National Health Corps Florida stood for. Our mission is:

To foster healthy communities by connecting those who need it most with health and wellness, education, benefits and services…

The critical point being, “Those who need it most,”

Mary needed my help most. I realized how selfish I had been to sit next to her, and think about how frustrated I was, when she was the one jumping through hoops everyday to get a job. Actually, not just jumping through hoops, but somersaulting through flaming rings with a broken ankle. But yet, I was frustrated.

Something had to change. I showed Mary how to use our typing program to raise her speed and confidence. We came up with a system of storing usernames and passwords so her diligence wasn’t in vain. We talked about her strengths and weaknesses. One of her strengths was her upbeat, enthusiastic attitude. She realized that if she could just meet a hiring manager, she could impress them with her drive, presence and perpetual smile.

And ultimately, that’s how she got her job. After doing an online application, she persevered to go down to the store and meet the manager. Her strengths, charm, confidence and determination more than made up for any weakness she had with computers.

Some may still think “There’s no helping some people,” but I know that every year Sulzbacher helps over 200 homeless adults secure employment.  Everyone has their strength and if you believe in those strengths, you can reach those in critical need.

This blog post was written by NHC Florida member Jen Hoerbelt.

Jen serves at I.M. Sulzbacher Center as a Health Educator.