Career Services to Multicultural Populations Forum – Monterey County

Instructions: Create an original post and describe the major groups of people with whom you work and the backgrounds from which they originate. Identify the key resources that you use with this group.  Then respond to one classmate’s post. You will make a total of two posts.

Remember that our learning group works in a full-value environment: We treat our colleagues with respect and professionalism. Our comments should reflect this culture.

24 thoughts on “Career Services to Multicultural Populations Forum – Monterey County”

  1. diego.anguiano says:

    1. I would say that the major groups we work with are immigrant workers and re-entry population. Immigrant workers are induvial who for whatever reason let their country in search of a better opportunity. Most of the time immigrant workers do not speak English and may need English as a second language training of basic computer skill training. The reentry population will have a lot of individuals who may suffer from substance dependency and may from PTSD from being incarcerated. The resources that this group may need is therapy and substance abuse counseling.

    2. No one has posted anything that I can comment on. \_O_/

    1. Julia.Perez-lopez says:

      Hi Diego, I can familiarize with your post because in fact there is a lot of individuals wanting new opportunities for their future. The good thing is there is no age limit of when you can achieve those certain goals. You can do it anytime and it is never late to better yourself and get that help.

    2. ibecerra says:

      Hi Diego,

      I agree with the resources that you listed for individuals that are re-entry for being incarcerated, English language learners, and substance dependency. These are also key resources that we identify to be able to assist the groups in which we work with.

      1. terri.balderas1 says:

        I totally agree with this reply. I feel most of the people I work with as well are justice involved, English language learners and so on. The fact that they come to us for help is an honest try to do better for themselves because I feel that they sometimes don’t know what else they can do. I can sympathize the struggle they go through of employers requesting background testing or hiring people who can only speak and understand English. I agree collaboration is key.

  2. ibecerra says:

    The major groups of people that I work with and the backgrounds in which they originate from is English language learners, undocumented individuals, individuals with prior justice system involvement, and individuals that are working through addiction or experiencing homelessness. The key resources to help these groups is collaboration with a variety of programs or organizations that assist these major groups that will ultimately help them overcome their barriers. For example, local ELL programs that will assist individuals with learning English, working with re-entry programs, and counseling center/rehab for addiction.

    1. lfrasca says:

      Hi Ivan,

      It is important to ensure the success of individuals and referral resources are a great way to provide that assistance. Language resources as well as addiction resources are a great way to help individuals take the right steps to a better future.

    2. erica.lomeli says:

      I think we need to have more resources to be able to help these groups. I feel like sometimes we get stuck because we don’t have any that we can send them too.

    3. Luis.guillen says:

      Hello,

      I completely agree with your post. the main key resources we can do to help our population that we serve is to continue to collaborate with other organizations, and variety of programs. The more resources we have the better we can assist the individual, and they can pass on that information to another person in need.

  3. lfrasca says:

    One of the major groups we work with is the Latino community. Watsonville, CA, is a small agricultural town and its main population is the Latino community. Language can be a barrier for some of our participants, and not all our participants are native Spanish speakers. The key resources we use to help the Latino community is providing resources such as language assistance, job/training assistance, and if needed referrals to other agencies as need, depending on the individual needs. The second major group we work with are individuals experiencing homelessness. One of the main barriers for this group is not having stable housing and not knowing where they will sleep the next night. The key resources we use to help individuals who are experiencing homelessness are job search/job training to help them get back into the workforce and earn a stable income. If the participant needs training for a specific skill set, this is where our program can help them meet that short-term goal. Referrals are another resource we utilize for our participants experiencing homelessness. Ensuring that our participants are getting the help they need is crucial to their success. Based on the individual need, we refer to a partner agency that will provide either housing assistance, legal assistance, food bank information, and other resources that need to be met before moving forward with training or job assistance.

    1. jsilvarojas says:

      Hello Lizbeth,

      I agree that we do work with Spanish speaker and provide them resources that will help them succeed in the future. Thank you for also including that we assist the homeless population and getting them back into a career path is a great way to assist them.

  4. jsilvarojas says:

    The main population that I work with are Latino, low-income, and Agricultural workers. The Watsonville community strives because of dedicated and hardworking agricultural workers who are mainly Spanish speakers. Most participants fit into an income guideline considered low-income and come in to look for resources that will help them get into training or on a path to their ideal career goal. Some of the resources we provide for them are basic needs resources that include housing, food, financial literacy information, and career guidance. The basic need resources are within Santa Cruz County. We also accommodate Spanish speakers by having Spanish speakers on the team and having all our information flyers in both languages. We collaborate with different agencies to refer our participants and assist them with what they are going through so they can receive extra assistance.

    1. elizabeth.molina says:

      Hello,

      It’s nice that you guys have those resources for the Spanish-speaking community. Perhaps you could share that information with us so that more people benefit from the housing, food, and financial literacy information you have.

      1. terri.balderas1 says:

        Hello Elizabeth, I was going to say this, but you hit it right on the nose! Same goes for people who have worked in seasonal work being paid higher then what is being paid by other employers. They then get laid off and expect to be compensated the same.

  5. elizabeth.molina says:

    Two of the major groups of people that I work with are immigrant workers, who have language barriers and are not aware of the resources available to them. Participants are referred to the adult school for ESL classes and are also offered assistance for employment with job sites that are willing to hire Spanish-speaking people. Participants are also offered training on basic computer skills and linked in learning classes for the field they might be interested in. I also work with older people with 20 or more years of experience in a particular field who suddenly find themselves unemployed and have unrealistic expectations of the position and wage they want, these people are offered labor marker information to help them understand the current market and the wages that they can expect. Linked-in learning classes are also offered to refresh some of the skills they have, before placing them in a new job or OJT.

    1. melineh.kocharian says:

      Thanks for mentioning the older people in the community that come in for help with employment after a sudden job loss. I’m glad you mentioned that one way to help them understand the current state of employment expectations by showing them the LMI data. 🙂

    2. rlopez says:

      Hello Elizabeth,
      It’s awesome you offer basic computer skills as one of the resources a lot of participants don’t have knowledge of using a computer.

  6. melineh.kocharian says:

    The major groups we work with are people with English as their second language which could create barriers for them. Their backgrounds vary but we do have resources with community partners that we can refer them to. Our partners offer ESL classes at different levels so that we can not only help with resumes and interviewing skills and applying for jobs but also help them develop their language skills to be able to apply for better opportunities that will help them have a better life for them and their family.

  7. erica.lomeli says:

    Two of the major groups that I would work with are those who are English Language learners that are seeking to learn another language other than their native language. By helping those you are creating outlets for jobs. While they are going to school they can also be seeking job services to help them get placed into a job. I would used being enrolled in the Adult School to connect with WIOA to get them enrolled building the bridge of community partners in the area. It can be in the cities that we have in the coast. Another major group that I would work with is the agricultural background. We are surrounded by it in Monterey County and Santa Cruz County. I would used the resource of WOA along with the Farm Workers grant to get those individuals enrolled into both to get the maximum benefits training and job placements.

  8. terri.balderas1 says:

    The majority of the people I work with are homeless, justice involved, English language learners, on the verge of homelessness, laid off, mental or disability barriers, and unrealistic expectations without the background or proper training. I utilize our partnerships with Department of Rehabilitation, the colleges and Monterey Adult School for English Language courses and further education opportunities and research, Department of Rehabilitation, the local shelters, LMI information and O’Net. I also utilize our own trainings and Co-horts that we have available. Some other partnership we have is Goodwill for job assistance and CVS that offer employment opportunities for people with disabilities as well as internships for pharmacy techs.

  9. Luis.guillen says:

    The majority groups that I come across with and work with are English language learners, and/or veterans. The resources we provide to the individuals in need are Monterey Adult School to assist them with the language barrier to help them become successful in their employment goals. Monterey Adult School can also provided evening courses to make it suitable for our clients schedule and they are able to work a full-time/part-time job during the day, and make it on time to their ESL class. We also are partners with VTC( Veteran Transition Center) where we can refer our clients who are veterans to their center and get the resources they may need in order to help them with their barriers and become more applicable job candidate. VTC also helps with resume assistance, job search, or we can collaborate to help with whatever they client may need.

    1. Janet.Gonzales says:

      Hello Jordan,
      I didn’t know the Monterey Adult School provided all of these great resources, until I attended an outreach event. I think these resources are really great for our Monterey County residents who are currently facing any language barrier and are looking for a better outcome in their career path.

  10. Janet.Gonzales says:

    The majority of groups I work with are Hispanic and are low income, and have a language barrier, but also work with individuals who are English speaking only. who are homeless and/or veterans. The majority of these individuals have worked in the agricultural fields almost all their lives, and want to find a better career for themselves and their families. The resources that we provide to the individuals are referring them to a local Adult School for ESL courses/GED, Veteran Transition Center, local food banks and/or housing resources as well as local government agencies to receive assistance with SNAP (food stamps or Medical).

  11. Amy.Sljva-Blystone says:

    We work with a variety of populations but are seeing more individuals who are unhoused and justice involved. As a result, we are always looking for resources to assist individuals and who come to the center. Some information we have are resources on local shelters available as well as information on Federal Bonding and Expungement. We also use United Ways 211 as another resource since they can provide a variety of resources the individual might need. It is important to make sure we have updated information available for our customers because information is always changing.

  12. rlopez says:

    One of the populations I work closely with is the Hispanic community where some of the main jobs are in agriculture. Language can be a barrier at times for some of the participants. Not all of the participants in the community are native Spanish speakers which leads to communication being a barrier. Another population I will work with is participants who have gone through homelessness. The main barrier they face is the lack of a stable home. For each barrier, we offer language assistance, job search/job training, and referrals to other agencies.

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