Providing Jobs — and a New Life — For the Jobless
Teach responsibility and life skills. Don’t give another handout. That philosophy is the core of the groundbreaking nonprofit StepUp Ministry. Headquartered in the heart of North Carolina’s capital city of Raleigh, the group’s mission is to partner with adults and children in the shared goal of achieving stable lives through job and life-skills training.
White Memorial Presbyterian Church, located inside the Raleigh beltline, birthed StepUp in 1988. Originally envisioned as a means of delivering transitional housing to families who were homeless or on the brink of homelessness, StepUp now focuses on teaching job aptitude and providing spiritual, parental, relational, and financial grounding for the disadvantaged.
The innovative approach — a hand up, not a handout — has caught the attention of the movers and shakers in North Carolina for its simplicity and effectiveness.
Core values
What defines StepUp’s approach? Transparency, accountability, and compassion.
On the compassion front, StepUp empowers the poor to become stable and frees them from the bonds of a welfare system that often perpetuates, rather than reduces, poverty.
Although welcoming everyone, the ministry sets parameters for applicants: They must be of working age, be free of addiction, have no pending criminal charges, and be able to present a valid Social Security card.
After meeting these basic requirements, individuals embark on StepUp’s multi-faceted path to financial, relational, and spiritual freedom. The ministry’s weeklong Job Training Workshop is the first leg of the journey.
Jobs training
Without a job — and the responsibility and self-respect that accompany it — stability and prosperity are impossible. But it’s hard to find a job without the right tools.
StepUp’s Job Training Workshop paves the way for participants to gain stable employment in their community. During the 32 hours of classroom instruction, students learn personal responsibility, interviewing and networking skills, conflict resolution approaches, goal-setting abilities, and job-hunting tactics.
The vast majority of adults that come through the career workshop have a criminal background, making employment even more difficult. Acknowledging that stumbling block, StepUp works with businesses in the Raleigh area to give formerly incarcerated individuals a second chance.
Life training
A job is important, but it won’t translate into stability apart from practical life skills. That’s why StepUp created a 12-month Life Skills workshop for graduates of the Job Workshop Training who are successfully holding down a job. The coursework helps students break the behavioral patterns that have kept them in poverty, such as substance abuse, consumer debt, and harmful relationships.
Phases of the workshop include spiritual and personal development, goal setting and financial literacy, relationship development, and career and credit development. The training also includes access to affordable housing, scholarships to further individuals’ academic or vocational pursuits, reliable transportation, health care, and even business attire.
Because 80 percent of the adults enrolled in the Life Skills workshop have dependent children, StepUp also offers programing designed specifically with children and young adults in mind. Topics covered include how to interact with others, how to differentiate between wants and needs, how to budget money, and how to maintain personal health.
Greensboro — and beyond
Swayne hopes to replicate the StepUp model in other cities around North Carolina. The ministry opened a new franchise in Greensboro in September 2012.
The John William Pope Foundation has been an instrumental partner in StepUp’s success in Raleigh. Beginning in 2010, the Pope Foundation has invested nearly $400,000 in the ministry. The lion’s share came through the Foundation’s 25th anniversary dinner. Around 500 people attended, and all proceeds — nearly $300,000 — benefited the ministry.