<![CDATA[]]>
Shannon: A New Job and a New Home for a Family of Four
Ask Shannon Redman what it’s like to be searching for employment on Chicago’s South Side these days, and the first thing he does is give a rueful small laugh that says as much as the words that follow: “It’s crazy looking for a job right now. It’s not easy.”
So Shannon couldn’t be happier to be at The Slab, a barbeque restaurant on 79th Street in Chatham. Since March, he has been working four days a week, cooking and cleaning, doing a bit of whatever needs to be done to keep the place running smoothly. The Slab isn’t the only good news in his life these days. A single dad, he and his three teenage daughters were living “doubled up” at his mother’s apartment in Englewood, without enough money for a place of their own. Today they live in their own apartment, closer to the lake. “I love my new place, and my daughters love it as well,” Shannon says. “I love it here at the restaurant, too. It’s very family oriented. I like that I get to work with food and to work the grill. They’ve welcomed me with open arms.”
Both Shannon’s job and his new apartment were secured through Heartland Alliance’s program for Chicago Public School students and their families living doubled up in the Englewood neighborhood. The program, which has helped some 200 families, offers a wide range of services that work together to help families stabilize and succeed. “Our main goal is housing, but we also provide employment services and counseling support,” says David Fries, Heartland Alliance’s project manager. “We’ve heard from Chicago Public Schools that four out of five families that are homeless are doubled up, and so that’s what the services focus on,” Fries says. “We work closely with 12 schools in Englewood to work with students and their families who are in temporary living situations.”
For Shannon, the idea of finding a job, an apartment, and help with any other big issues all at once makes sense. “There’s so much negativity in being unemployed, not having a place to live, looking for a job,” he says. “Working with Heartland Alliance, now I feel like I have a lot of positive things in my life.” Tonya Trice, who owns The Slab with her husband James, says that Shannon fit in at the restaurant from the start. “We were busy and really needed help when he came,” she says. “For a small business like ours, it’s critical to have the right match with every employee. But Heartland Alliance heard what we needed and found someone who was just what we were looking for.” “With all this, it’s like I’m starting all over,” Shannon says. “It’s like a rebirth.”
How You Can Help
|
|
Heartland Alliance—the leading anti-poverty organization in the Midwest— believes that all of us deserve the opportunity to improve our lives. Each year, we help ensure this opportunity for nearly one million people around the world who are homeless, living in poverty, or seeking safety.
Please consider making a donation today to help others like Shannon.