The Buzz - October 2020

OCTOBER 2020

ALAMEDA COUNTY SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY • OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS & COMMUNITY RELATIONS • EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER

A Message from the Agency Director: Looking Back to Look Forward

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s winter fast approaches and holiday celebrations loom, we will be challenged once again to redefine celebratory traditions. I know it is much easier said than done especially when small children are involved.

Honestly, it is difficult at any age. This pandemic has tested us in ways that we never thought possible; we have had to reimagine most aspects of our lives from the mundane grocery shopping to the most consequential: childcare and education. I encourage you to be retrospective in your approach to the coming holidays. Take time to reflect on holidays past, family traditions, and memories that are inalterable even by a pandemic.

IN THIS ISSUE 1 Agency Director’s Message 1 Early Educator Apprenticeship Program Honors First Class of Graduates 2 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program Gears Up for 2020-2021 Tax Season 3 Combined Charities: Spirit of Connection 3 You Can Count on SSA: 2020 Census Wraps Up 4 Welfare-to-Work Participant Achieves Dream of Becoming a Nurse

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Early Educator Apprenticeship Program Honors First Class of Graduates WRITTEN BY: Andrea Ford, Assistant Agency Director

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Workforce and Benefits Administration

he Early Educator Apprenticeship Program honored its first class of graduates—the Class of 2020—on Saturday, August 15, 2020. As a partnership between the Alameda County Social Services Agency, Tipping Point, and First 5, the Early Educator Apprenticeship Program provides CalWORKs participants with the opportunity to earn a Child Development Associate Teacher Permit, along with 12 semester units toward a college degree and a stipend. The Class of 2020 included 44 individuals who received either an Associate or Assistant Teacher Permit, AA Degree, MA Degree, or FDA Family Development Credential. Of the 44 graduates, thirteen CalWORKs recipients received an Associate Teacher Permit.

The CalWORKs cohort, consisting of timed-out individuals, active participants, and non-needy caretaker relatives, began their journey of obtaining an Associate Teacher Permit about a year ago, with each participant receiving a $1,000 stipend six months into the program and another $1,000 stipend at completion of the program. Many of the graduates plan to continue on this career path by working towards obtaining an AA Degree.

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Continued from page 1: A Message from the Director In that spirit, I took a look back at my Director’s columns over the years and landed on the October 2018 edition.

Here is my message to you from that time: “Living presently is essential to our physical and emotional health but holding on to past memories that rejuvenate us is also important to a thriving life.” At that time, California was about to enter what would be—up to that point—the deadliest wildfire season in our state’s history. In 2020, the wildfires have raged once more—but this time it is amidst a pandemic. My hope is that we find strength among these tragedies and are able to create memories that will enable us to rebuild our lives.

We look back to look forward…reminding us that we have survived difficult times together. It is human nature to question whether you have the internal fortitude to make it through challenging periods in life. The answer is, yes, we do—because we have. Your resiliency and our collective resolve will get us through the 2020 Holidays and the COVID-19 pandemic, and allow us to envision a future built on an incredible past.

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Lori

Continued from page 1: Early Educator Apprenticeship Program What’s special about this group is that when the Shelter in Place Order was executed, they had to quickly transition from in-person classroom learning to distance/ virtual learning. As a bonus for staying in the program, the graduates will keep the laptops that were used as part of their distance/virtual learning.

There was an outpouring of support from family, children, and friends who blew their horns and cheered as each graduate’s name was called to accept their certificate. After posing for a picture with their certificates, each graduate was presented with a transition bag that included items to help them as they transition to full-time employment and their AA degrees. A resounding message at the graduation was that funding from these three agencies allowed the graduates to get their permits without having to reach into their pockets to pay for this program.

The graduation ceremony took place in the parking lot of the YMCA’s Ralph Hawley Center in Emeryville.

It was a “car-based, social distance, wear your mask” graduation. The special guest speaker was Dr. Joya Chavarin, Dean at Berkeley Community College. The Student Commencement speaker was one of the Social Services Agency’s CalWORKs participants who vowed to continue her career path of helping black and brown children assimilate into society and become successful adults. In her words, “There are no bad kids; there are just kids who are in need of a lot of love and direction.”

According to Pamm Shaw, Vice President, Early Childhood Impact, YMCA of the East Bay, most of the graduates will be working for the “Y” full time, because there are enough openings to accommodate all who want to work. The Y will be expanding programs in Hayward this fall and will be looking for even more staff in that area.

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program Gears Up for 2020-2021 Tax Season

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here are two things you can count on in life: taxes…and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program! The VITA Program is currently gearing up for the 2020-2021 tax season and mapping out a new service model that will include virtual/drop-off tax preparation services at two SSA locations: Eden and Enterprise offices.

A training announcement with a link to sign up for December and January dates will be reaching your inbox soon. Please consider being a part of this longstanding program—the community needs you more than ever.

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WRITTEN BY: Natalie Tibbs, Government & Community Relations and Elaine Jackson, Director’s Office

he Combined Charities campaign raises funds to support nonprofit agencies that provide programs for our communities. Those member agencies fund a variety of programs that support the environment, health care services, youth education and programs to provide shelter and food to the homeless. In the past our generous giving has benefited the residents of Alameda County and has likely supported someone you know.

As the pandemic persists and continues to affect our local, national, and global communities we as SSA employees through this campaign, can show the Spirit of Connection by donating to deserving charities so they may continue to serve our community.

This year’s campaign runs through December 2nd. This year we as SSA hope to raise $78,314 for charity. Please consider donating to an organization that erves our community, be it local, national, or global.

Please visit: https://alcoweb.acgov.org/charities_app/display.do

Thank you for your support!

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You Can Count on SSA: 2020 Census Wraps Up

here is the best place to inform and get County residents to complete the 2020 Census? Ask any Census enumerator, and they will tell you: one of the Social Services Agency’s Self-Sufficiency Centers. In one 6-hour outreach session at the Eastmont office, Census volunteer Teresa convinced over 50 people to complete the Census. When asked to share her art of persuasion, she responded, “I just tell them how much we need to get every person to complete the Census—because services like the ones offered at this Eastmont location are provided by government dollars that are appropriated to Alameda County by the Federal government as a result of the Census. People want to do their part.”

With questionnaire assistance provided by the Alameda County Complete Count Committee’s Outreach Team, we were on a roll until the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order on October 13 allowing the Trump administration to end the Census counting early on October 15.

Every SSA employee should be proud of the work that our Agency has done in its key role in promoting the 2020 Census. A special thanks to staff at the Census outreach locations: Eastmont: Dana Morgan North Oakland: Lucias Potter and Kim Fogel Eden: Ava Simien and Jennifer Servin We could not have done it without you.

REACH OUT TO THE BUZZ Send comments to Sylvia Soublet • ssoublet@acgov.org Content and Design Editor: Andrea Wong

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“Welfare-to-Work Has Changed My Life”: Participant Achieves Dream of Becoming a Nurse

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WRITTEN BY: Andrea Wong, Office of Public Affairs

hen Allyson Roarty first enrolled in the Welfareto-Work program in 2016, she was going through some difficult times in her life. Among the challenges were caring for her young daughter and her grandparents. Ms. Roarty drove her grandmother daily to the hospital—an hour each way—to visit her grandfather in the ICU until he passed away. “It was being in the hospital each day that I was able to see the impact a nurse has,” Ms. Roarty reflected. She told her then-Employment Counselor Rochelle Baxter-Green (now currently a Job Developer) that she wanted to become a nurse.

As Ms. Roarty’s Employment Counselor, Ms. BaxterGreen tried to make sure that Ms. Roarty had “every tool and every opportunity available to support her success.” Ms. Roarty enrolled at Chabot College and began on the prerequisites to apply to nursing school. “For the first time in my life, I had support to be successful in school: books, supplies, and someone to watch my 2 year old daughter. I was able to focus solely on school and also—as a first—began to get straight A’s,” she said.

“Now I will be able to provide a life for my daughter and also be able to help my community.”

- Allyson Roarty,Welfare-to-Work participant in with me when things were going well or got a little tough. We’d talk and formulate a strategy to address and overcome the situation. She attacked every obstacle with tenacity.” Even a broken ankle and torn leg ligaments couldn’t keep Ms. Roarty off her chosen path. In spite of being in a wheelchair and undergoing three surgeries during a particularly intense semester, Ms. Roarty recalled, “I was never late, and I never missed a class”—and she earned a 3.8 GPA.

Ms. Baxter-Green’s personal commitment to her participants and the emotional support she provided were also critical factors for Ms. Roarty’s success. “Ms. Baxter-Green was always so supportive and made sure I took care of myself first,” said Ms. Roarty. “It was the best feeling that I had a friend who was rooting for me and wanting me to succeed and become the person I was meant to become. She was always available and always responded quickly. I am so blessed to have her as my WtW mentor.”

Ms. Roarty graduated from Samuel Merritt University magna cum laude in June 2020 with her nursing degree. She has been volunteering in a Field Care Clinic in San Francisco’s Bayview/Hunter’s Point neighborhood and helping with COVID-19 patient testing while applying for nursing jobs. “The [Welfare-toWork] program has changed my life,” Ms. Roarty said.

“Now I will be able to provide a life for my daughter and also be able to help my community. I am forever grateful for this program and to Ms. Baxter-Green.”

“Allyson took full advantage of the WtW program and worked tirelessly to achieve her goals, often attending two schools at once and never taking time off,” Ms. Baxter-Green reflected. “She never failed to check

“Allyson took full advantage of the WtW program and worked tirelessly to achieve her goals, often attending two schools at once and never taking time off... We’d talk and formulate a strategy to address and overcome the situation. She attacked every obstacle with tenacity.”

Ms. Roarty was selected to be in a commercial in a campaign highlighting frontline workers for Steph Curry’s bottled water brand, Oxigen. View the commercial.

Ms. Roarty is “an amazing young woman and I am honored to have had the pleasure of working with her; she taught me a lot too,” said Ms. Baxter-Green. “I often use her as an example of how the WtW program supports participating clients in my supervised job search orientations. She is truly an inspiration.”

- Rochelle Baxter-Green, SSA Job Developer (Ms. Roarty’s former Employment Counselor)

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