Program gives women new hope

Judy (not her real name) remembers what life was like before she came to Birmingham’s Christian Women’s Job Corps (CWJC).
   
By her own admission, Judy was a drug-addicted alcoholic. As a result, she had lost her home, her children and car.
   
Now employed, she said the CWJC — a volunteer-operated outreach sponsored by Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) that helps women get back on their feet — was instrumental in putting her life back together.
“I just got tired of living that way, but the job training program helped me get a house and car,” Judy said. “Definitely living with God, that’s why I’m here today.”
   
She said the CWJC’s job readiness class gave her confidence in her abilities. From there, she landed a job she had always wanted and bought a house and car. And yes, she regained custody of her children. As a result of her success, the WMU awarded Judy with the Sybil Bentley Dove Endowment.
   
Andrea Aldridge, communications specialist with the Alabama WMU, said there are seven CWJC sites in Alabama, with efforts to bring the program to four other cities in the state. Aldridge said the primary goal of the organization is to equip women to take care of themselves.
  
“We help women move forward in life and we introduce them to God in a lot of instances,” she said.
Aldridge said more than 200 women have graduated since the program was begun in Alabama in 1998.
   
“Basically what the program does is help women gain self-confidence and job skills for employment,” Aldridge said.
   
Helping women is done through efforts such as teaching them job readiness skills, computer skills and providing knowledge to help them compete.
   
But Aldridge said there is also a spiritual component to the job training. “Women are hooked up with a mentor and their mentor works with them in a Bible study,” she said.
Evidence for the success of CWJC is plentiful:
   
–CWJC has grown from five pilot sites in five states to 157 sites in 35 states in four years. Aldridge said Alabama was initially intended as a pilot site, but did not participate with the original five states. While participation fluctuates from site to site, an estimated 1,500 women are involved in CWJC at any time.
   
–In a recent survey, one-third of the sites reported 89 professions of faith —  75 women, 12 children and two husbands. This data does not include those who made recommitments to their relationship with Christ, although there are numerous stories and testimonies of those who have.
   
–In terms of employment, 47 percent of participants secured employment during the past year. Some sites record a 100 percent employment rate for participating women.
   
But CWJC is more than statistics. It is about relationships.
   
“CWJC has been successful because it does what Jesus teaches Christians to do  —  love your neighbor,” said Frances Shaw, chair of the CWJC National Advisory Council and director of the Florida Baptist Convention’s women’s missions and ministries department.
   
Sheila Rogers of Dallas would agree. She is a graduate of the Dallas CWJC site operated by the Dallas Baptist Association.
   
Rogers was a drug addict who overcame her addiction through her relationship with God. After almost three years in a rehab house, she turned to CWJC to help her rebuild her self-esteem and fine-tune her job skills. That was two years ago. Today, she works for a furniture company in Dallas.
   
Her story can be told hundreds of times over, thanks to the commitment of thousands of volunteers who work in the ministry at the local level, said Trudy Johnson, CWJC director at national WMU.
   
The success of CWJC continually opens new doors of opportunity for the ministry, Johnson noted. Begun by definition as a ministry to “women in need,” CWJC quickly grew beyond serving communities as a “welfare-to-work” ministry to include women who are part of the growing number of America’s  working poor and their families.
   
Then in Orlando, Fla., the ministry was taken to women in the adult entertainment industry. Other sites are currently in development based on this model.
   
And during 2001, a pilot project at the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women in Baton Rouge will be implemented by Chaplain Gary Sumrall. Called “CWJC: Behind and Beyond Bars,” screened inmates will have opportunity to participate in CWJC for six months prior to their release, followed by an additional 12 months after their release.
   
For more information on Christian Women’s Job Corps, contact Trudy Johnson at P.O. Box 830010, Birmingham, AL 35283-0010; phone, 205-991-4972; e-mail, tjohnson@WMU.org; or visit www.WMU.com. (BP, TAB)