Amirreza Jafari, a Queens resident in his thirties, felt that his diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) was preventing him from getting the job of his dreams. Amirreza was clearly qualified; he had work experience after obtaining a Master’s degree in Public Administration with a Healthcare Policy Concentration from Baruch
Like many GenZers, Joanna Ruiz explored working in different sectors after graduating from high school in 2019. She launched her own business as a traveling stylist and then worked the salad buffet in a restaurant. But when her hours were cut and eventually she was laid off, Joanna came to
Life was good for Nicholas Pierre until he was laid off from his job as IT specialist at Addison design in February 2012. His life spiraled out of control – family life became turbulent and he had to move to a domestic violence homeless shelter with his son. Then he
When Antonio Hall graduated from the Urban Assembly School for Performing Arts and received his diploma at age 18, he needed career direction. He had never worked, was not sure where he could work, or how to get a job. The fact that Antonio had been diagnosed with a Mild
Angela Bernard is a US veteran and a single mom in her early 40s who lives in Bloomfield, NJ with her two daughters. Angela came to Goodwill Connects Vets in early 2022 when her job cut her hours and pay due to the pandemic. She was also facing eviction. Today,
Robert Sauerwein , an US army veteran, found himself homeless when his landlord decided to sell the private home where he lived and evicted him and the rest of the tenants without notice. At the time, Robert, who is single in his fifties, was working at a drugstore and trying
When Akia Spivey graduated from high school in June 2021, she made a decision. She would get a job and break the cycle of poverty and unemployment that had plagued her family. She felt that she had no role models. Akia, a 20-year-old single Black Brooklyn resident who grew up
Aisia Bell, a 36-yr-old Black/Hispanic woman with multiple disabilities, came to Goodwill NYNJ in fall 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, to get a vocational evaluation to determine her interests and strengths. The single mother of three, who lives in the NJ Hudson County, had limited work experience and
Jesus Rodriguez was a taxi driver before the pandemic hit,, but lack of work forced him to applied for public assistance and become a stay-at-home dad. But Tragedy had literally hit home earlier; fire consumed his home and he lost everything. His wife worked to support the family while he
Olive Zachowski had been on and off public assistance for about 3 years before joining Bridge To Tech. Her background was in theatrical carpentry and other odd jobs working with her hands, but when theatres closed due to the pandemic, she found it difficult to find employment. Olive came to