Jayden Wheeler, determined to hold on to his past, wasn’t sure what his future would or could look like. He was 25, in an inpatient rehab program, and his most recent job was sorting through donations at a Goodwill thrift store.
“I really didn’t know what I wanted to do or where I wanted to be,” Wheeler said. “I didn’t have much valuable work experience … I definitely needed a second chance.”
As a resident of Bernalillo County, NM’s CARE Campus — which provides substance abuse and mental health services, including crisis intervention and medication support — Wheeler was offered access to a Bernalillo County employment training workshop, which consists of 20 hours of “basic soft skills to maintain a job,” such as CV writing and interview practice, according to Cindy WeaselBear, Bernalillo County’s director of talent.
Completing the employment training made Wheeler eligible to apply for the county’s Foundational Learning Alliance for Maintaining Employment (FLAME), which places people in need of a “second chance,” including the homeless and justice-involved, in job positions in four county departments during a year. FLAME students receive wages and benefits, including health benefits, through the county.
To be eligible for the FLAME program, an applicant must have a high school diploma or equivalent, and either have interned for the county, completed the county employment workshop or been honorably discharged from the military, according to WeaselBear.
The employment workshop that Wheeler attended through CARE will also soon be offered at the county jail in an effort to support the county’s justice-involved population upon release and reduce recidivism.
“I’ve talked to people who live on the streets, I’ve talked to employers, and there’s such a gap there that doesn’t need to be there, so it’s really about bringing people together for me,” WeaselBear said. by FLAME.
“We’re all one big disaster away from needing a second chance – get in a major car accident, have a medical problem come up that can also put you on the street, so it’s just about being human and recognizing that people have difficulties.”
WeaselBear said she herself needed a second chance, which has contributed to her passion for leading the FLAME program. At 15, she found herself on her own, without a home or support system.
“I lost family, I lost friends, I lost everything,” WeaselBear said. “You had to figure it out, you had to find a way and find the resources. And it wasn’t easy. I had to find ways to cope. And it was hard, but I made it. And I’m in a really good position here now, where I can pay it back and help others get back on their feet.”
Each trainee is assigned a job coach who supports them throughout their rotations.
The job placements are determined both by what openings the county has, as well as what the intern’s interests are or what they intend to pursue after “graduating” the program, so they are able to demonstrate some experience in the field to future employers, according to WeaselBear .
“Through that process, we have different things that we use to try to get an idea of what they want to do, what they don’t want to do,” WeaselBear said. “So that way we can try to put them in a position that suits them, and that’s a little bit up the road.”
Many FLAME students are people who are formerly incarcerated, homeless or veterans, so it’s important not to put them in a situation that might be particularly triggering for them, WeaselBear said. For example, if someone was traumatized in the past by public interaction, the county would not place them in a reception, she added. In addition to that, where an intern is placed can vary greatly.
“In one rotation they might be doing marketing for animal care and in another they might be working down in our fleet shop helping out with the mechanics,” WeaselBear said.
“In another case, they might be in our media center or accounting, or they might be in shift or even here in human resources.”
Wheeler spent the past three months in the county’s fleet and facilities accounting department, learning skills including data analysis and reconciling credit card transactions, and recently started his second rotation in human resources, helping with event planning.
His next two rotations will be in the county’s budget department and animal welfare marketing department.
“It’s really opened my mind,” Wheeler said. “Before I went into accounting, I never thought it would ever be an option for me. I never thought I would have the opportunity, let alone the qualifications, to do something like this.”
Wheeler has aspirations of working in business management one day, and he’s excited that his rotations are getting him one step closer, he said.
Every two weeks, FLAME interns undergo four hours of professional development training, where they are taught skills such as public speaking, conflict resolution and project management, according to WeaselBear.
At the end of the year-long program, the FLAME students will have a “capstone project” that acts as a kind of “reverse job fair” where each intern will have a table or booth where they share information about themselves to locals employers, such as what knowledge and skills they have and what their goals are for the purpose of being employed.
“Prior to working here, I had very little opportunity to really get involved in a workforce that I could excel at,” Wheeler said. “When I’m here, I feel like I have a job where I’m serving a purpose, and I feel like they give me the opportunity to do things that I never would have had the opportunity to do before, whether it’s on because of my background or because of my qualifications.
“It’s given me the opportunity for just that — for a second chance, a chance to really be something.”