Job Service Expands to Valley

For years, board members and staff of the nonprofit group Chrysalis have been asked the same question: When are you coming to the Valley?

The agency, which helps the poor and homeless find jobs, has labored for years on skid row in downtown Los Angeles and in Santa Monica. Now, it is bringing those same services to the San Fernando Valley, working out of a Pacoima office at 14015 Van Nuys Blvd.

Though there is a sizable homeless population, the need here can be subtle and difficult to detect, said Rachel Feldstein, director of the Pacoima Chrysalis.

Since 1984, Chrysalis has provided employment services to the jobless referred by homeless shelters, substance abuse recovery clinics and other social service agencies. Clients typically don’t have the interview skills, proper clothes or contacts to begin a job search. Many have been on the street; some have been incarcerated.

Last year, Chrysalis helped 1,600 people get jobs, said Dave McDonough, senior director of employment services at Chrysalis Labor Connection, a division of the nonprofit agency.

The goal of the Pacoima office is to assist 100 people this year and 200 more next year. For those who complete the curriculum, 93% find jobs, Feldstein said.

The office has a staff of four and a two-year budget of about $500,000, including start-up funds of about $380,000 from the California Endowment. The California Wellness Foundation, private donors and the state also have donated funds.

Since opening in May, the office has held orientations in Spanish on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and in English on Wednesdays. Of 50 clients being assisted, about 18 have found jobs, Feldstein said.