My view: Strong, achieving partnerships often begin with simple conversations

Saturday, February 28, 2015

From the Rockford Register Star

By Jack Becherer

Rockford Health System

In fall 2014, a discussion between representatives of Rockford Health System and the Rockford and Winnebago County housing authorities led to a new idea in collaboration. RHS would hire tenants of the housing authorities and the housing authorities would restore houses close to Rockford Memorial Hospital so the new employees could walk to work. Seemed like a great idea! Residents of the housing authorities would get full-time jobs, with benefits. The community adjacent to Rockford Memorial would be strengthened by restoring homes, and the health system would hire employees who live close to work. As the concept evolved, other community organizations were asked to contribute to the partnership. The Workforce Connection, part of Rockford’s statewide structure to help displaced workers and unemployed job-seekers, along with one of their key partners, Rock River Training Corp., were asked to join. These partners suggested the importance of preparing prospective employees for the world of work — a tool to increase the likelihood that those who were hired would persist and thrive in their jobs. In the search for a great preparation course, the partners met Larry Williams, director of the Freeport Housing Authority. Larry and his organization were receiving national recognition for training hard-to-place job-seekers by developing the attitudinal and behavioral attributes to earn and persist in a job. Conversations among partners led to enhancements in the program. • Northern Illinois Workforce Alliance provided resources for the job-preparation course. • The housing authorities screened and interviewed residents suitable to participate. • Rock River Training provided candidates and employers access to state and federal programs, including career exploration, job placement, on-the-job training for employees combined with salary reimbursement to employers. • A 40-hour job-preparation course that met four nights a week for four weeks. Perfect attendance was mandated; 11 candidates started and finished the class. • The completion of the job course and all other facets of the program led to an inspiring and motivational graduation at Rockford Memorial Hospital, covered by our newspaper and TV stations. • The housing authorities will access federal programs to place a portion of rent payments into an escrow account. Employees who persist and thrive in their jobs at Rockford Health System will use this account for a down payment on their rental homes. In February, Rockford Memorial offered four jobs to graduates of the program. Three other graduates have received full-time jobs with other employers. The partnership eventually took on the name Economic Empowerment Initiative: Improving Lives through Community Collaboration. Moving 11 residents toward self-sufficiency is laudable, but it is not an agent of change. The power of this model is its scalability. Every facet of this collaboration will be replicated. Hiring organizations can easily join the partnership. They will benefit by the trials and mistakes of the initial partnership while providing ideas that will improve the initiative. Read more here: http://www.rrstar.com/article/20150228/OPINION/150229263/10447/NEWS]]>