Year: 2023

Community

‘Grief is a Journey’: Hospice support helps loved ones work through their emotions

November 2, 2023 California Hospice Network

“There’s incredible power in sharing with a group of people who are going through similar experiences,” says Joan*. After the devastating and sudden loss of her wife of nearly 40 years, Joan’s world felt empty, and she struggled to find meaning and connection in the aftermath. For months, Joan’s grief consumed her in ways that felt deeply isolating and insurmountable. When a friend recommended that she join a grief support group at YoloCares, a nonprofit hospice in Davis, Joan discovered that sharing her story with a community of fellow grievers helped her forge a path forward. […]

Community

Practicing Wisdom: California Hospice Network’s ethics committee provides guidance in the face of end-of-life dilemmas

November 1, 2023 California Hospice Network

While death and dying are universal, the end of each life is a unique experience—one that can be filled with gray ethical areas that challenge even the best hospice professionals to seek wisdom. To help nonprofit hospices best serve patients and their loved ones, a group of Northern California hospice agencies have launched a new and vital project: “Practicing Wisdom, the Ethics Committee of the California Hospice Network.” […]

Employer at work
Adult Education

The right message in the right way: How Huntington Beach Adult School partners with local employers to provide skilled employees

October 10, 2023 Huntington Beach Adult School

Hiring for a place like Hyatt Regency can be difficult. The hotel is a 24/7 operation, so employees need to have flexible availability. Furthermore, the hotel likes to promote from within, so Rivera is always looking for people who she believes will stay the course. It’s a path she herself followed. […]

Community

Stronger together: How collaboration is helping nonprofit hospices thrive

August 1, 2023 California Hospice Network

After nearly 20 years, Gwendolyn Kaltoft, chief of quality, compliance, and education, was set to retire from her post at YoloCares, a nonprofit community-based hospice in Davis, California. A determined and spirited woman, she had watched YoloCares balloon from a census of 30 to 130 over two decades and led the development of YoloCares’ community-based palliative care program, the first of its kind in Northern California. […]

Adult Education

Building Relationships: How a partnership between Huntington Beach Adult School and Asian American Advancing Justice is guiding immigrants toward citizenship

July 17, 2023 Huntington Beach Adult School

Applying for citizenship in the U.S. can be a complicated process, with confusing paperwork and bureaucratic requirements. But according to Joseph Navales, Supervising Attorney for Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, the biggest roadblock is one often overlooked by citizenship applicants: learning English. […]

Adult Education

Educating the Entire Person: How Huntington Beach Adult School prepares students for the modern workforce

June 29, 2023 Huntington Beach Adult School

Since opening its doors in 1971, Huntington Beach Adult School has continually reinvented itself in order to better serve the community. Starting as a modest operation confined to the K-12 school district offices, HBAS now serves over 7000 students across Huntington Beach, Westminster, Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, and several other neighboring communities. It no longer operates out of a single location, but instead has four campuses spread throughout the area. […]

Adult Education

Life-changing: East Region Adult Education meets you where you are—and gives you a new path you never expected

May 25, 2023 East Region Adult Education

When Gabby Galvez decided she wanted to continue her education, she chose East Region Adult Education to learn English as a second language and to also obtain a high school diploma to help her with better job prospects. At that point, she had not received any kind of formal education in a classroom setting for about 30 years. […]

Adult Education

Adult Education: Uplifting East Region adult learners and the communities they live in

April 25, 2023 East Region Adult Education

In many ways, adult education is the best-kept secret up and down the state. And people who do know adult education exists often think it is only for learning English or finishing high school. But today, adult education offers so much more: Opportunities to start a new, well-paying career abound, including in-demand jobs in health care, manufacturing and information technology. […]

Employment

Putting skills to work: How on-the-job and employee readiness training help California

March 30, 2023 California Workforce Association

Job Link ensures employee readiness in many ways. Job seekers work closely with career counselors, who assess their preexisting skills, needs and interests. They steer them to classes at Petaluma Adult School, arrange bus passes or child care, help them update their resumes, and direct them to job fairs. In other words, they work to remove the many barriers under-served communities typically have toward employment. And this readiness counseling pays off. […]

Employment

Prison to Employment: How California workforce development boards help…and why it matters

February 16, 2023 California Workforce Association

When that long countdown to the end of a prison sentence reaches zero, the door swings open. It will mean little, however, if that’s the last open door an inmate sees.

Unlocking the entrance to the job market is essential for the 35,000 or more individuals released from California prisons yearly. It’s also essential for the economy and for communities who feel the impact when those who are released fail to find solid employment and reoffend. […]

Labor

Ready to do the job: how ValleyBuild is preparing diverse communities for careers in construction

January 6, 2023 California Workforce Association

ValleyBuild is a training program started by the Fresno Regional Workforce Development Board with the aim of preparing students for apprenticeships and careers in construction. The program lasts six weeks, and is based on the multi-craft core curriculum, or MC3, meaning students learn skills ranging from electrical work to forklift operation. The instructors come from local union affiliates in the Building Trades Council. […]

Labor

California Workforce Association Spotlight: Members help job seeker and employers reconnect post-pandemic

January 6, 2023 California Workforce Association

Phillip Fitzgerald loved his job. For 32 years, he worked as a commercial driver, most recently transporting senior citizens. He was at his last job for nearly five years before the pandemic hit and the company shut down. After a year of lockdowns and COVID-related closures, he finally found another job, only to have that company relocate out of state after two and a half months. With a family to support, Fitzgerald needed to find work. […]