Glen Ellyn Group Committed to Helping the Unemployed

Eva Bongiovanni has an impressive resume, but what's even more impressive is her dedication to help the unemployed finds jobs. 

"Truthfully, it's not every day that you can get somebody with my kind of background to give you free counseling," Bongiovanni said. 

Instead of serving food at a soup kitchen, Bongiovanni thought she should use her expertise to aid a Glen Ellyn group as a board of director that has been helping the unemployed for more than 20 years. 

St. Joseph the Worker Employment Job Ministry equips individuals with the rights tools for the next job. The catch is there is no catch. The group recruits speakers to come address the group of unemployed individuals and it's all free. The group meets every other Wednesday, once at Southminister Presbyterian Church in Glen Ellyn and once at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Naperville.  

A tutorial on Linkedin was the topic of the last meeting. In the crowd was Naperville resident John Ehrlich. On Dec. 1, 2011 Ehrlich was let go from his position as a sales manager. After 11 years in the sales industry, he didn't see it coming and was shocked. Since then, he's attended numerous help groups like St. Joseph the Worker Employment Job Ministry. 

"These groups are unbelievable," Ehrlich said. 

Filling the rest of the room at Thursday's Naperville meeting at St. Margaret's was a group of older individuals, mostly males. Bongiovanni said those out of work learn quickly that the job search has changed dramatically in the last decade.

"I would say the vast majority of people who come to our meetings are people who worked at a company for 16 years, 18 years, 20 years, what have you, and they haven't looked for a job since 1990. They don't know how to write their resume anymore. Resumes don't look the same as they did 25 years ago. They're starting at ground zero and they need the assistance." 

In 1989 Larry Stiff was out of work and needed help. He turned to St. Joseph the Worker Employment Job Ministry. After a few months of coaching on interviewing skills and how to write a resume, Stiff landed a job. Most people who use the services of the ministry feel obligated to pay it forward for those who helped them. Many, like Stiff, decide to come back and help the ministry, now Stiff is the board of directors chairman at the ministry. 

The group provides more than just job help, it's also an emotional support group for those out of work. Bongiovanni said it can be stressful when parents with children in college are unemployed and burning through savings. And she wants the unemployed to know, 

"There is somewhere to turn. We will try to offer whatever we can to get you to the next step."  

For more information about St. Joseph the Worker Employment Ministry, click here.