We don’t often stop to think about the many privileges in our day to day lives. We don’t think about the things we do with ease, or the opportunities that we have that can be barriers to others. One of these is the act of going to work. Sure, mornings can be hard – it’s hard to wake up and get out of the house (if you’re a morning person… we have nothing in common). But for others, the cost of getting and maintaining a job is impossible. Yes, we know that sounds crazy, but let’s walk through it.

For many people we work with, It’s not just as simple as applying, interviewing, getting a job and showing up. 

Our clients face many challenges and barriers to even applying for a job. Maybe it’s a lack of access to WIFI, computers, and printers (before you say the library, you need to have proof of residency to get a library card and $2 – which to some is a lot). If a job does accept applications in store, our clients often don’t have a ride there or gas in their car to get there. 

The interview. For most of us, we understand we must be professionally dressed and well prepared. This means finding somewhere to shower and appropriate clothing. This is hard to do if you’re homeless or can’t afford new clothes. And again, transportation. This is an upfront cost of paying someone again for a ride or putting more gas in their car. 

Follow ups. If a client doesn’t have a phone or access to one (with a consistent number) there is no way for a hiring business to contact them. 

Let’s say we have managed to get through all these challenges and they got the job. If they have two children that are not school aged or are school aged but the job means working past school hours, we now have to pay for childcare. On average a full time daycare is $800 a month and afterschool care averages $250 a month. Another expense incurred before that first paycheck is cut.

So now, they are employed and have 2-3 weeks until that first paycheck, how do they get their children to daycare in the morning or pick them up on time (when their work schedule doesn’t allow it). What happens if they miss two days of work because they or their child is sick? What happens if they don’t have reliable transportation? What if they are still homeless trying to make it work everyday with little access to facilities to shower, wash clothes or eat? 

While it sometimes feels like the easy answer is to get a job, for many there are major barriers to getting AND maintaining that job until the paychecks start coming in.