Nonprofit opens new job resource center

A local nonprofit that helps struggling families with temporary housing is opening a new resource center that may also help them find jobs.

Family Promise of the Verdugos will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday for its new center, located at First United Methodist Church of Glendale, 134 N. Kenwood St.

Inside, there are computers, phones and services provided by a case manager, said Albert Hernandez, the executive director of the nonprofit that serves Glendale and Burbank.

Families can also use the resource center’s address if they are currently without a home, he said.

People who show up in need of help are usually parents who’ve lost their job and, if they haven’t already, are about to lose their apartment.

There’s also a food pantry and toiletries as well as one service moms and dads have at their disposal if they’ve fallen on especially hard times: clothing.

“Families that come to us and are homeless have only three or four outfits and because of the heat, it’s things like tank tops,” Hernandez said. “Now, we can provide professional clothing, button-down shirts, blouses and professional shoes that they can use when they go on job interviews.”

The nonprofit typically houses four families at a time at local churches, but there’s no cap on how many people can use the resource center.

“[The center] fills a gap for us,” Hernandez said. “We’re going to be able to serve more families.”

Kerlissa Camacho is member of one of those families; they were housed through the nonprofit for about three months.

Now, she lives in an apartment in Sylmar.

“Once we got [to Family Promise of the Verdugos], we felt very comfortable. They made us feel normal,” Camacho said. “We called it home for 90 days, and it was priceless.”

Lilia Hernandez, a mother of two, said she’s grateful the organization was able to feed her two growing boys and help her in finding a better job. The nonprofit also dropped off and picked up her children at their school, she said.

“They taught us how to get better at life,” she said. “How to do better for me and my kids.”

Leadership Glendale’s Class of 2016 raised $7,000 to get the resource center up and running, Hernandez said. Leadership Glendale is an eight-month leadership development program, sponsored by the Glendale Chamber of Commerce to educate participants about the city.