Creative, outside-the-box thinking leads to a Way Finders’ first
When Way Finders’ Secure Jobs Program staff were thinking about ways to support newly arrived participants in their program, they were encouraged by their partners at the Department of Transitional Assistance to think creatively. The collective goal? To help a significant number of Haitian immigrant families—most of whom have temporary protected, or refugee, status and speak limited English—on their path toward stable employment and housing.
“In order to qualify for family shelters, adult participants need to be actively participating in their rehousing plan. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, they must be involved in either a vocational or educational activity that contributes to their plan. Which makes sense, right?” said Vice President of Housing Education Services Jasmin Rojas. “But for folks coming from Haiti who don’t speak English, it’s hard to get hired or enroll in training or education. So, what are they supposed to be working on, what does that look like for them?”
Knowing that there were long waitlists for local classes for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Rojas and her colleagues in Employment Support Services considered other options—the language app Duolingo, interpreting headsets, volunteer-led language classes. But nothing seemed quite right. The headsets, for example, aren’t yet available in Haitian Creole.
“We really wanted to set our participants up for success. So, we just kind of started talking about, ‘What would it look like if Way Finders sponsored a class?’” said Rojas, who then reached out to Holyoke Community College. “Together we agreed to create an ESOL class onsite at Way Finders that is very employment focused for participants who are eligible for Secure Jobs. It’s a first for us! What’s great is that in addition to an instructor, the class also has an advisor who speaks Haitian Creole. HCC learned from past collaboration that it’s really helpful to have someone act as kind of a case manager in class, to connect with participants and address barriers to attendance.”
In her advisor role, Neissa Mentor provides translation and encouragement. If someone misses a class, she helps them catch up, so they don’t feel they’ve fallen behind.
“The students see the class as really important. I think their dream is to speak the language fluently and find a job, get housing, be able to live,” said Mentor, who immigrated from Haiti in 2023 and studied English at HCC. “At first, they couldn’t introduce themselves, now most can talk about where they are from, what they like, who they want to be in the future. It’s a great community, everybody respects each other. I think helping people is a blessing and I’m so happy to be able to guide them.”
At a recent September class held at Way Finders’ Springfield Housing Center, pairs of students sat back-to-back to conduct mock phone interviews, taking turns being the interviewer and the job candidate. Each brought the Chromebook they received from Way Finders, to help them grow in digital literacy skills. They practiced describing their prior employment experiences, their fields of interest, their personal strengths, their availability to begin working.
“I am calling about the production assistant position. I was in Brazil for three years, in food production,” said Wadnet Malvoisin, one of the 11 students regularly attending class. “I can speak Haitian Creole native, French native, Spanish intermediate, Portuguese intermediate, and I am currently learning English at Way Finders. I am a hard worker. Organized, punctual, respectful.”
From left, Advisor Neissa Mentor and students Roselaurel Bruno, Wadnet Malvoisin, Rudeline Antoine, and Nerline Cesar
“I’m so proud of you, you’re doing excellent practice. C’est bon,” said Chris VerVoort, instructor of the 12-week course, which began meeting three days a week in July. “Now let’s do it again, with a real phone call. You go outside the room, give your partner a call. Next week, I’ll ask Way Finders’ staff to do the phone interviews, so it’s native English speakers. It’s more stressful that way.”
VerVoort, who began teaching English in 2020 while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal, was excited by the opportunity to craft this ESOL course.
“The whole project has been really nice. It’s different from other classes I’ve taught, because it’s targeting a specific group of immigrants. And it’s really targeting a career focus, which is not something we’d usually touch on for a level one English class. But because I speak French and Neissa speaks Haitian Creole, we can do more than a normal English class,” said VerVoort. “The students seem much more comfortable now trying in English than when we started. A lot of it is just building the confidence to try piecing things together. When you feel OK making mistakes, you learn faster.”
“The class teach me to express myself and to get places, it helps me and my family with communication. I hope to improve my language more every day,” said student Roselaurel Bruno, who was most recently living in Chile. “My message to the teacher and advisor, is courage and patience. Their work is not easy but we love them very much. And we are saying thank you so much for all their effort, as well as the Way Finders’ staff.”
“I like the way the teacher conducts the course and presents, he helps us a lot. What surprised me is how the teacher, advisor, and Way Finders’ staff treat us. They provide us everything we need with equality,” said Rudeline Antoine. “I would like to thank them for their love and presence.”
VerVoort worked with Mentor to build the curriculum, which included making a resume, sending professional e-mails, and learning about career pathways. Based on the many students who voiced interest in working in healthcare, a representative from Baystate Health—one of the region’s largest employers—was invited to speak about job opportunities and requirements to apply.
“Baystate has wonderful career paths once you start working with them and get your foot in the door, in any role, such as paid medical assistant classes and English classes,” said Rojas.
From left, Way Finders’ Creative Content Manager Emily Malloy with students Roselaurel Bruno, Wadnet Malvoisin, Rudeline Antoine, and Nerline Cesar
Students were motivated by the presentation, especially when they learned that Baystate’s application process is streamlined for partner organizations such as Way Finders.
“It made all our work in class, the weeks spent on resumes, feel more concrete,” said VerVoort. “This kind of partnership and collaboration directly with employers, it’s really surprising to me. We can refer students and send in their resume to help speed up the process. I really hope some people get interviews or hired with the skills we practice. Baystate also said they were fine with Neissa being on phone interviews to support with translation, which is pretty unheard of.”
As word about the class spreads, it has been sparking lots of interest.
“We’ve been getting a lot of requests to join a next class,” said Rojas. “I’m so happy and thrilled that it’s working out, this investment in time and money is important for our families. We are exploring future class options with HCC, to do a similar cohort for brand new folks or to continue with this group and focus on healthcare.”
“The class means a lot to me because I learn how to speak on the phone and do an interview,” said Malvoisin. “My message for Holyoke Community College and Way Finders’ staff is a big thank you. Because you are offering free English lessons, now we will have a chance for a brighter future.”