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WARREN -- Gina Peplow spoke to Warren City Council recently to spread awareness about a program she hopes will continue to grow.
Jobs for Ohio Grad-uates' affiliation with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services helps with funding and identifying young people who need help.
"We align very well," the community engagement professional said. "We work hand in hand with ODJFS, and we have an amazing partnership and relationship with them. And we get a lot of our participants through ODJFS referrals."
The difference with her organization, Peplow said, is that Jobs for Ohio Graduates, or JOG, maintains a successful follow-up process.
Anyone who falls under the poverty line by 200 percent is eligible, she added.
"ODJFS handles benefits, while we handle their mental, professional and emotional development," Peplow said. She described the age range JOG works with, 16 to 24, as "the most pivotal time in someone's life for their development.
"All of our educators are also specialists, with social work or education backgrounds, which helps with lots of different aspects of what our program does," Peplow said.
In Trumbull County, more than 100 youth are being serviced. Many people who finish the program enter the workforce in generally soft-skilled jobs, but some go on to gain contacts with trades, as well as to further their education.
Peplow attended Warren G. Harding High School and graduated from Kent State University with a communications degree and a nonprofit leadership minor. Returning to her hometown as an employer and community engagement professional is a plus, she said, as it allows her to be in touch with an area she knows well.
A SUCCEEDING GRAD
Allysia Fletcher, 18, of Niles enrolled in the program at 14, when she had no career interests of note. After contacting the website jogworks.org, Jobs for Ohio Graduates, Fletcher said she was welcomed and gained comfort in "just talking to people."
Fletcher is now employed by BRITE Energy Innovators, Ohio's largest energy incubator, in Warren, as an administrative assistant. Before spending time in JOG, she attended Trumbull Career and Technical Center, but she explained that JOG was more helpful for her.
"JOG is more of a professional development, and learning stuff to help you keep a job. And that's going to help you learn how to get into the field that you're going for," she said.
While in school, Fletcher gained an interest in forensic science, but said she hated most of the chemistry that came along with it and only enjoyed its biological aspects.
"I didn't really know what I wanted to do after graduating," Fletcher said. "So I rejoined the program because I figured it wouldn't hurt after I quit my job at Burger King. I got placed at the job I have currently, from there I was hired full time, and eventually promoted to stay there and develop my skills."
Without JOG, Fletcher said she believes she might not have a job. She still wants to capitalize on her career path in science, and said, "It's funny how everything sort of connects with seeing the lab technology at BRITE."
Heidi Phillips, Fletcher's career specialist, met her four years ago during a summer youth employment program at Niles McKinley High School.
"It was great," Phillips said. "She just seemed really interested in gaining skills and knowledge so that she could prepare herself for an awesome life. … She is dedicated and knows what employers expect from her, how to be successful in the workplace and how to make an impression on people.
"Especially with the schools, we work a lot on their mental health," Phillips added. "A lot of these kids come from really tragic home lives, and they really just need that person who will listen to them, be on their side, and help them find solutions for their problems."
When students first enroll with JOG, they are tasked with checking off a "barrier sheet" of obstacles toward their success.
"It is super awesome, over the years, to start clicking those off," Phillips said. "We want them to be the best employee present, so we set the expectations for them, and then they are accountable to us. They might not feel responsible to their new boss, but they are accountable to us when they see us on the daily."