Homeless Find a Transitional Job Cocoon in Agency

When the success bell rings at the downtown Chrysalis office, work ceases, mouths close and people listen: Another program client just found a job.

For 20 years, Chrysalis has been teaching self-sufficiency to the homeless. With branches in downtown Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Pacoima, the nonprofit organization each year launches 2,000 people on a journey back into the job market.

“The bell motivates participants and staff,” said George Matos, a Chrysalis employment specialist. “For that moment in time, that participant has the recognition of everyone in the place. They are important and they have meaning.”

Frank Silva, a 50-year-old Chrysalis client, has yet to ring the bell signaling that he’s landed a job. Silva said he spent eight years in prison for burglary and 10 years as a homeless drug addict. Now drug-free and working temporarily for a program that Chrysalis itself runs, Silva said ringing the bell is “what I’m striving for right now.”

“Chrysalis says even though you went through all of this, you are still a person,” Silva said. “They don’t look down on you, and that’s what motivated me. My self-respect, my dignity -- I didn’t have any until I went to Chrysalis. I always thought my role was to be a drug addict in the streets, and they made me see it differently.”

The Economic Roundtable estimates that 80,000 people are homeless in Los Angeles County on any given night. Unlike many programs serving the homeless, Chrysalis doesn’t provide meals or shelter but focuses on helping clients find employment.

“We’re outcome-oriented and results-driven,” said Emily Newman, chief operating officer of Chrysalis (the name refers to a butterfly’s growth stage between larva and adult). “We’re a ‘teach-a-man-to-fish’ program.”

Silva, an East Los Angeles native, worked as a warehouse forklift operator in Compton before drug addiction compelled him to steal and sever ties with his family.

In March, Silva decided to change. He went to the Los Angeles Homeless Care Center to beat his addiction, and to Chrysalis to find a job.

“Most people escape homelessness by reconnecting with an income,” said Daniel Flaming, president of the Economic Roundtable, a nonprofit research group. “What Chrysalis is attempting to do is absolutely critical for helping people escape homelessness, prevent homelessness and prevent relapses of homelessness.”

When clients first arrive at Chrysalis, they attend a workshop that explains the program’s goals and expectations. Seventy percent of attendees move on to work with an employment specialist and begin weeklong job-preparation classes. The other 30% are judged not ready for the rigors of the program. Of those who complete the program, Newman said, 93% find jobs, some in the private sector and others at two companies run by Chrysalis.

During the classes, clients learn how to find job listings, create a resume and prepare explanations for any prolonged gaps in work experience.

“When you fill out your application and what you’ve been doing for the past 10 years, you can’t put ‘drug addict’ or ‘living on the streets,’ ” Silva said. “Having the background I had, nobody was willing to hire me, nobody trusted me. I was making applications through different places for six months and had no luck at all.”

Clients without phones use the phones at Chrysalis and provide the organization’s number for employers to follow up. Those who need clothes for a job interview find suits and shoes in the clothes depository. And those with so many interviews that they can no longer stand in line for food at shelters can find canned goods in the Chrysalis pantry. In addition to tangible help, Chrysalis offers support groups for anger management, relapse prevention and other needs.

For clients who might have a harder time finding employment, Chrysalis can land them work through its own two companies: Street Works provides street cleaning and other basic services for various agencies, and Labor Connection, a staffing agency, finds clients temporary work in the private sector. Both programs help clients develop their skills, establish references and gain work experience that will eventually help them secure a job in the private sector.

In 2002, the companies provided 50% of Chrysalis’ $6.1-million budget, corporate and individual donations made up 35% and government contracts and grants accounted for 15%. Some local and federal money is funneled through the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

“For us, the greatest success is a homeless person living as independently as possible and making as much money as they can,” said Mitchell Netburn, executive director of the agency.

Once clients find jobs, retention specialists try to ensure long-term employment success by addressing other concerns, such as finding day care or resolving misunderstandings with employers. The possibility of a drug or alcohol relapse adds to a client’s newfound job pressure. Relapse rates depend on an individual’s financial state, support system, family situation and other factors. Matos said Chrysalis employment specialists like him focus on the positive, convincing clients that a three-day relapse is better than a three-month relapse.

A small photo of Silva, taken in the throes of his addiction, helps keep him relapse-free. He carries it with him. It helps him “count my blessings,” which include a wife, three children and a grandson. He moved back in with them after getting clean and gaining a job.

Now, Silva cleans the streets where he once slept and the corners where he once scored drugs. Sometimes, he sees an old friend from his drug days, but being on his old turf “is making me stronger. It’s part of my survival.”

“Chrysalis is a steppingstone,” Silva said. “They are preparing me for a better opportunity. Eventually, someone will hire me and I want them to hire me knowing all about me -- where I’ve been, who I’ve been and who I want to be.”