Arab-American Group Helps Unemployed Find Jobs

Washington - Last year, Mona Abbas had nothing except the clothes on her back. No home. No car. No job. This year, the mother of two young children has turned her life around. Abbas' chances improved after she received assistance from the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS).

"They really helped me with everything. They helped me find free day care for my children and gave me many opportunities," Abbas said. "I am much better off today than I was a year ago when I was jobless and depressed."

Abbas is one of 12,000 Michigan residents who last year sought assistance through ACCESS' Michigan Works One-Stop Employment Service Center. ACCESS, founded in 1971 by civic-minded Arab Americans in Dearborn, Michigan, provides free social services not only for Arab Americans, but for anyone in the community.

ACCESS' 45-person employment service staff is working to turn around Michigan's nation-leading 14 percent unemployment rate.

Najwa Hadous, ACCESS employment and training operations manager, said the demand for services is outstripping the supply.

"It is so difficult because you want to provide more, but you don't have the adequate funding to expand," Hadous said. "We have 25 to 30 computers for customers and sometimes the demand is so great that people have to wait around to use one of the PCs."

A 14-year veteran of the organization, Hadous said ACCESS' employment and training services are promoted by word of mouth and online. ACCESS is on a bus line and strategically located between Dearborn and Detroit, she said.

While many Dearborn area residents are of Arab origin, the organization serves people from a variety of backgrounds.

ACCESS employment and training staff speak Arabic, Urdu, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Bosnian and Albanian. A wide range of ethnicities is represented on the staff, which helps the staff understand the area's diverse community.

"There is also the cultural sensitivity that goes along with it," Hadous said about helping people find jobs. "You need to understand an individual's background in order for you to provide assistance, effective assistance."

Government-funded programs comprise a large part of ACCESS activities. Through these programs, ACCESS provides case management and referral services, career counseling, employability skills workshops and assistance with job searches.

Basic computer skills training, GED instruction and English as a second language are offered at the ACCESS computer center. The Employment Services Program provides access to Michigan's Talent/Job Bank, an array of employment workshops and employability resource materials.

Employers also turn to ACCESS to find employees - from laborers to executives. ACCESS provides employers with an interview room and screening, testing and assessment services. It even offers diversity training.

"We supply employment services to employers and job seekers alike so we serve as a mediator between the two," Hadous said.

ACCESS works with employers to hold three job fairs a year. Unlike some job fairs where employers attend for self-promotion, Hadous said ACCESS ensures that participating employers are hiring. A recent job fair drew 1,500 job seekers in four hours.

"You come in here and find people wrapped around the building [waiting to enter]," Hadous said. "We bring in employers who need to hire people."

ACCESS is turning out trained people ready to work, but jobs remain scarce. For the jobless to find work, the economy needs to turn around.

"Michigan is really challenged. We need companies, we need people to come in to Michigan because we have the talent," Hadous said. "We just need to have employers come to Michigan and see what we can do for them."

When Michigan's jobs come back, Abbas will be ready.

Abbas improved her English through ACCESS and helped case workers with filing, document translation and simultaneous translation from Arabic to English. Trained as a nurse in her native Lebanon, ACCESS set her up with additional training at the American Red Cross.

Currently, she receives a salary as a nurse's aide through a program at the ACCESS Community Health and Research Center. The program, which is further improving her nursing skills, ends June 10, and Abbas is still seeking full-time employment.

With possible unemployment looming, Abbas is worried but remains upbeat.

"They are sending my resume everywhere through e-mail and faxes and they are helping me as much as they can," Abbas said. "They are such good people."