In response, Selfhelp has undertaken a plan that addresses shortages long term and holds great promise as a model for other home care agencies. With funding from the Weinberg Foundation and in collaboration with STRIVE (Support and Training Result in Valuable Employees, a Harlem based nonprofit organization created to help those who face significant barriers to employment achieve independence through work), this April saw the commencement of Selfhelp’s remarkable new workforce initiative. The program is designed to encourage workers to enter and advance through a home health career through mentorship, readiness training, and career development strategies. Shannon Simpson, RN, Manager of Training, oversees the program’s day-to-day operation, and recently reported on it to the Home Care Committee, receiving very favorable responses because of its focus on career training.

Kim Hone, RN, Training Coordinator, applauds the effectiveness of a training component modeled on STRIVE’s Boot Camp. “The class really prepares the new trainees for a demanding job that requires a personal sense of responsibility and a high level of interpersonal skills. It’s intensive, soft-skills training.”

In April, Selfhelp hired its first Mentor, Quintia McMillan, to guide new Aides through their first year, an often difficult and lonely transitional experience. In April, Yurella Lopez, was hired as one of the first Training Associates to assist in the classroom. She demonstrated great initiative and promise, working hard with associates to produce a resource book for home health aides, who themselves may need help with a variety of social services in order to stay the course and remain employed. Her intelligence and hard work garnered Yurella, who has been working at Selfhelp for many years, a promotion to Mentor, a job she loves! This promotion has heightened her long time desire to become a nurse and Selfhelp’s program will support her. Already forming linkages and agreements with a number of nursing schools, Selfhelp plans to provide additional training to aides who wish to pursue a career in nursing and to guide them towards that goal.

Mentor and Masters Degree student Quintia McMillan, feels her work will support her dream of becoming a psychologist. She has been able to help many mentees surmount personal problems, including assisting an Aide whose home burned down, shortly after beginning the program. Both Quintia and Yurella are compiling a huge book of various social, educational and health-related resources for the Aides they assist.

AVP, Tami Seidler, RN, who directs the Guthery Training Institute, believes this new program will give Selfhelp a competitive edge as a home care provider. We’re sure it will and wish it continued success!