The Hour
NEON nets $130K grant from Workplace, Inc.
By ANNA GUSTAFSON
Hour Staff Writer
NORWALK — Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now, or NEON, can now help 40 more people
with literacy development, vocational skills and work experience, thanks to two grants totaling
$130,000 from WorkPlace, Inc.
The additional funding will allow NEON to serve a total of 80 Norwalk and Stamford residents
on Temporary Family Assistance, formerly known as welfare. The new individuals can take a
month-long job readiness course and gain work experience through a subsidized work
program. The new funds also allow for individuals to receive daily vocational training classes.
"It will help increase their literacy skills, obtain their GED, gain some vocational skills and gain
some work experience," said Chip Anderson, NEON's director of finance and planning. "This
really strengthens Norwalk's workforce to help this population."
The $60,000 grant from WorkPlace Inc., southwestern Connecticut's regional workforce
board, will fund the subsidized employment program.
This program is new for NEON and Anderson said its two components, a job preparedness
class and the actual employment, will help individuals to eventually make the transition to an
unsubsidized job.
After the job preparedness class finishes, which teaches residents how to prepare a resume
and search for attainable jobs, participants will work 20 hours for six to 10 weeks at local non-
profit organizations and businesses.
"The goal is for them to get a job at the end," Anderson said. "It gives them a sense of what it
means to work and hopefully these employers might find a good candidate that they'd want to
hire."
NEON Executive Director Joseph Mann said the subsidized employment program affords
important opportunities to residents living in poverty.
"We want to help people find jobs and help them get skills to find better jobs," Mann said.
"These are the things that lift people out of poverty."
The second $70,000 grant supports the vocational training and adult education, or literacy
development. Program participants will attend daily classes from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and
learn "about employment and life skills," Anderson said.
This program, which NEON currently offers, allows residents to learn vocational skills such as
customer service, administrative assistant skills and computer literacy skills.
This additional funding will help people in need of finding a job, said Tamara Joseph, a NEON
case manager. Most of the participants are women and single mothers, Anderson and Joseph
said, and many of them have been discouraged by the competitive workforce.
"Many of the people have been out of jobs for two or three years, and it's hard for them to go
back into the job force," Joseph said. "So we help them to get the skills to get back into the
workforce."
Last year, this program helped 26 Norwalk residents, 11 of whom now have solid jobs, and
NEON continues to work with the other 15 to make sure they find employment.
"If you're in a program and you don't get a job, we don't let you go," Joseph said. "They still
come here and we work with them until they find a job."
Through skill-building, Adrienne Parkmond of WorkForce Inc. said they hope individuals will
become desirable employees in an increasingly competitive job market.
"This is important especially as we move into a period of low unemployment here in Fairfield
County," she said.
Anna Gustafson can be reached via e-mail at agustafson@thehour.com
NEON nets $130K grant from Workplace, Inc.
By ANNA GUSTAFSON
Hour Staff Writer
NORWALK — Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now, or NEON, can now help 40 more people
with literacy development, vocational skills and work experience, thanks to two grants totaling
$130,000 from WorkPlace, Inc.
The additional funding will allow NEON to serve a total of 80 Norwalk and Stamford residents
on Temporary Family Assistance, formerly known as welfare. The new individuals can take a
month-long job readiness course and gain work experience through a subsidized work
program. The new funds also allow for individuals to receive daily vocational training classes.
"It will help increase their literacy skills, obtain their GED, gain some vocational skills and gain
some work experience," said Chip Anderson, NEON's director of finance and planning. "This
really strengthens Norwalk's workforce to help this population."
The $60,000 grant from WorkPlace Inc., southwestern Connecticut's regional workforce
board, will fund the subsidized employment program.
This program is new for NEON and Anderson said its two components, a job preparedness
class and the actual employment, will help individuals to eventually make the transition to an
unsubsidized job.
After the job preparedness class finishes, which teaches residents how to prepare a resume
and search for attainable jobs, participants will work 20 hours for six to 10 weeks at local non-
profit organizations and businesses.
"The goal is for them to get a job at the end," Anderson said. "It gives them a sense of what it
means to work and hopefully these employers might find a good candidate that they'd want to
hire."
NEON Executive Director Joseph Mann said the subsidized employment program affords
important opportunities to residents living in poverty.
"We want to help people find jobs and help them get skills to find better jobs," Mann said.
"These are the things that lift people out of poverty."
The second $70,000 grant supports the vocational training and adult education, or literacy
development. Program participants will attend daily classes from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and
learn "about employment and life skills," Anderson said.
This program, which NEON currently offers, allows residents to learn vocational skills such as
customer service, administrative assistant skills and computer literacy skills.
This additional funding will help people in need of finding a job, said Tamara Joseph, a NEON
case manager. Most of the participants are women and single mothers, Anderson and Joseph
said, and many of them have been discouraged by the competitive workforce.
"Many of the people have been out of jobs for two or three years, and it's hard for them to go
back into the job force," Joseph said. "So we help them to get the skills to get back into the
workforce."
Last year, this program helped 26 Norwalk residents, 11 of whom now have solid jobs, and
NEON continues to work with the other 15 to make sure they find employment.
"If you're in a program and you don't get a job, we don't let you go," Joseph said. "They still
come here and we work with them until they find a job."
Through skill-building, Adrienne Parkmond of WorkForce Inc. said they hope individuals will
become desirable employees in an increasingly competitive job market.
"This is important especially as we move into a period of low unemployment here in Fairfield
County," she said.
Anna Gustafson can be reached via e-mail at agustafson@thehour.com
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