Goodwill’s Senior Community Service Employment Program helping people to stay active in the workforce

Many times, folks will discover that retirement doesn’t quite suit them. At the end of a long professional career, simply calling it quits and heading home may end up not being the best option after all. For anyone currently in that position, the local Goodwill Opportunity Center, located at 37 South Park Center Drive in Corbin, could help you to get back into the workforce through their Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP).

If you are 55 years of age or older, have low income, and are thinking of going back to work, Goodwill’s SCSEP can potentially facilitate that. First, an initial assessment will be done to determine if you meet all of the program’s criteria. There will also be an evaluation of your skills and interests, and then, ideally, placement with a local nonprofit or government agency. Paid on-the-job training will be offered for those who qualify, with a typical workload of about 20 hours per week.

In the past, participants of the program have been placed in positions such as social service, schools, libraries, daycare and/or senior care centers, government agencies, health care centers, and even digital and computer training.

A recent press release sent out by Goodwill SCSEP during National Employ Older Workers Week (Sept. 24-30) said, “Goodwill is one of only 20 national non-profit organizations authorized by the U.S. Department of Labor to administer the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) to aid older workers.”

“Through SCSEP, these individuals receive training through part-time, service-oriented positions in their communities,” the release went on to say. “The program aims to promote community service while helping participants achieve fiscal self-sufficiency.”

Locally, a pair of workers at the Corbin Senior Citizen Center are finding new purpose after enrolling in the Goodwill SCSEP program. Charla Brock, a former homemaker, and Lorie Wells, whose background is in ministry and missions, are both learning new skills and making a difference in the lives of visitors to the Center each day.

“I was needing some extra job training,” said Brock. “The director here [Amber Case] mentioned the Goodwill SCSEP program. She said that I could apply through that, so I did.”

Wells had previously trained through Goodwill SCSEP at the former Cedaridge Ministries, but when President Keith Decker passed away and the organization closed its doors, she was reassigned to another training position at the Senior Citizen Center.

“My heart has always been in helping people,” Wells explained. “So, when my training assignment [at Cedaridge] ended, it felt like there was no one there for me to reach out to. Then I was assigned here, and I found that these people really just need someone to talk to, and to communicate with. I feel like I have found my place here.”

In addition to interacting with visitors to the Senior Citizen Center, Brock and Wells perform a variety of important tasks that ensure people will get fed, and they make sure that the facility itself is properly cleaned.

“We do a number of things,” said Brock. “We help in the kitchen, help to prepare meals for delivery, and we help to feed people in the Center. We also do some cleaning.”

Wells added that there has also been a lot of learning to do when it comes to staying compliant with mandatory health department guidelines, but that her training in those areas has gone smoothly.

“Those people are awesome,” Wells said of the folks she has worked with at Goodwill SCSEP. “They will work with you to get you wherever it is that you’re going to fit in.”

If a person is interested in learning more about how to get involved with Goodwill SCSEP, or if any 501c(3) nonprofit organizations or public agencies would be interested in learning about the benefits of being a host agency for older workers, more information is available at www.goodwillky.org/scsep. Additional info on SCSEP can also be obtained by calling (833) 439-7759.

Host agencies have cited qualities in older workers that include superior work ethic, loyalty to employers, maturity in the workplace, good judgment and an eagerness to learn new techniques.