Laarni Power, Crystal Brayboy, & Brigit Reynolds

00:18 Okay, I'll start. Okay. Good afternoon. My name is Laarni Power. I am the community partnerships coordinator for Providence, Alaska, and my role focuses on outreach to the community in terms of helping others. Primarily students gain skills through job shadowing internships, but also adults who are looking to expand their skills. One of the programs that I work with is the Catholic Social Services Refugee Assistance and Immigration Services training program, and my colleague, Crystal Crystal Brayboy, has been involved with the program since its inception. Hello. My name is Crystal Brayboy, and I am the manager of environmental services at Providence, Alaska Medical Center. I have been working in this department for 23 years, starting off as a housekeeper and working my way up. Yeah, I have been a part of this program starting probably 2007 ish or so. I have been able to help, you know, onboard some of the CSS trainees and help get them trained. When I was an office coordinator for the department, that gave me a chance to foster some relationships and learn new things about people and help them get the support that they need. And then we just recently started back up during that course. During that time, also, we were able to hire some of the trainees. They were trained. So as soon as it was time to hire them, after their three months, there was no training needed, and they just came and started working. And then as a manager, I'm able to go back to doing, supporting the program and supporting the trainees again. And it's working out, right? Yeah. And, of course, we partner with catholic social services, and our current liaison with that is Brigit Reynolds.

02:50 So, my name is Brigit Reynolds. I am the education and employment manager for refugee assistance and immigration services, which goes by the acronym of Raise as well, which you may hear throughout this. And basically, I oversee all of our education services, anywhere from job readiness classes, where we provide, like, vocational english language learning with a job focus. So anything that you can think of culture wise around american workforce, all the way to the specific vocabulary needed for a specific type of job. We kind of help teach our newest arrivals, and then we also do employment services, which is where Providence kind of comes into play, too. So we have people just in, you know, normal employment, helping them with resumes, getting onboarded all the way through following up with the employers, and troubleshooting any problems that may arise. And this partnership with Providence kind of allows clients to get their foot in the door of, like, a wonderful organization that's very large and can help them really grow. Kind of like Crystal was saying, you can start as a housekeeper trainee and then move up and get the. Then you can move up and get the normal, just typical job in that field and then move all the way up to, you know, running the whole program. So I think that that is kind of what the goal of this program is, is just to give people kind of a chance to see what Providence could offer them and also gain some on the job skills.

04:48 Absolutely. And that falls right in with our mission to serve everyone, but particularly the poor and vulnerable. And the population of our refugees definitely fall into that more vulnerable category. I understand that the program has been around for about twelve years. I had always been involved with it, but Crystal has. And so, Crystal do you remember the first trainee? I understand that that was a trainee that was assigned to environmental services and then ultimately became employed in Ev's and then further along in sterile processing. Do you recall those days? Yes. So that was. Well, okay, so that was one of our caregivers, Hano. He started off very early on in this, and he came. He was very timid and shy and, you know, I think it was overwhelming for him to be here, maybe, you know, and. But he took on the. Took on the program would ease. He came in, he had his buddy with him. He was able to learn some things. There was language barrier for him, but we were able to overcome a lot of those. Those things because I think he was in school also at the time to help support that language barrier. And he actually went on to work with us for years, and then he went down to SPD, which could be intimidating for anyone, really, but it could be intimidating for someone who has English as a second language, because they take big tests and things of that nature in order to be certified. And then he went over, actually, to general store. So he's been able to move up in the organization, come to work, faced with some challenges, of course, and then come in and be able to jump over those challenges. And I, you know, support his family here and back home. So I still see him, actually. Excellent. And what are other languages that he speaks? He would. He spoke Arabic. He spoke, I forgot one of, like, he's versed in at least three languages. Sure. Yes. Yes. So one of the things I really appreciate about catholic social services and the race program is their ability to provide language interpreters for a lot of our trainees. Brigit how do you vet the interpreters? Are they previous clients, typically, or have they. Are they from other parts of our community that come in and start to volunteer, or are they.

08:05 Yeah. So it kind of depends. I really think it's great that we are able to get some community people that have been resettled through our program, give them an opportunity to earn some money. And then also we know that we have really, you know, reliable, culturally appropriate interpreters that have that as their first language. So we sometimes have clients that once they're here for a while or former clients come back and say, oh, yeah, I'll work for you as, like, a contractor, so we can contract with them to do language interpretation. We also have just people in the community as well that speak different languages that we're also able to use. And we have a phone interpretation line as well. So if all else fails, there's always 24/7 this language line that we can call and get basically any language that we would need, which is really helpful in the work that we do.

09:12 That's great. So the way our program typically works is that we plan on hiring them for anywhere, the trainees, for anywhere from three to six months. And sometimes we go a little on the longer end. If we have a manager that doesn't have a current opening yet, they know that they would like to hire the trainee on a regular basis. Sometimes it's less than three months simply because there is an opening at, say, the two month mark, and the trainee has demonstrated the skills and the abilities to succeed, and they're hired into regular positions much sooner. So that's also a beautiful thing from your end, Brigit I know that you folks do a lot of background preparation to help them get ready to be here and even other employers within the community. So can you shed some light on all, what all happens kind of behind.

10:24 The scenes organization and to kind of, I guess, properly talk about that, putting it in some context of, like, our general program as well. So we are the only resettlement agency in the state of Alaska. So basically, if a refugee or asylee, anyone that is eligible under office of Refugee resettlement is resettled to Alaska, they come through our office. And so we're kind of a smaller state in that way, which is not typically something you associate with Alaska, but we have people from all over that come to us, and so we have case management teams that are able to do intakes, and I, you know, help people get enrolled in public assistance benefits, help people secure housing and find housing, stay in their housing, all of those things. We have people who pick our new arrivals up from day one at the airport and make sure that they have a culturally appropriate warm dinner waiting for them because they're often coming in at, you know, midnight, 01:00 a.m. and so we have teams that do that and provide assistance for 90 days. And then we are able to serve clients for five years. So that's really special too because that's a lot of things to learn in only five years, really, you know, coming to a brand new place. So they get case management for five years. They get our services at employment and education for five years. And then also we have medical case management as well. And we also have some fun programs too, that we have an agriculture program. So people who maybe wouldn't be able to do typical employments are able to make money on the side, get outside garden and participate in what's very popular in Alaska, which is, you know, living with the land. So we kind of have a vast array of services offered. And so what we kind of do as well, before even we have a job placement is from day one we're trying to assist our newest neighbors with not assimilating into culture of America, but being able to learn the culture of America and to see where they fit in with it. So we, yeah, so we tried to teach them, we have cultural orientation class for all new arrivals, which is America 101, which is always so much fun. Get to hear a little bit about where they come from, what their norms are. And then we share some about ours all the way from housing, staying safe inside, locking your doors to in Alaska, we have to teach about Baron Moose and like, what do you do, you know? And so it's always a really fun time and also really impactful as well. And we kind of get to know what their, like, background was in what they want to do. We always try to get people in a job that's in their field, but a lot of times that's not like accessible or available, you know, right away. So that first job, we really tried to just get them a survival job, a job to kind of get their feet under them, give them something to do during the day, earn some money, things like that. And then it's really helpful in programs like this with Providence because we found too, like in this round, since sometimes the process takes a while to get onboarded with Providence, having them work, you know, a first job and learn some of those soft skills and then also be meeting with us to say, okay, this is what a job upgrade is. This is what this is going to teach you. Like kind of start getting them thinking about like a longer term pathway. Like this is a program that maybe is only for a couple of months, but it could be longer, like if you are really good or if you really want to do this. So it also provides that segue of like a second layer of training, too, of like, this is a training program, but it's more specialized skills that you can take with you if you stay there or if you go someplace else as well.

14:49 Right. And so over the past twelve plus years, I know, Crystal you have hired more than just that original trainee to be regular employees. And I feel like many of them have had longer term employment with us than, say, the average. Yes. Would you say that? I think about some of the individuals that I still have now in my department. There is one, two, three, about three of them that are still in my department. And I'm trying to think of, I want to say about six, six years or so. And then I've had one who went back home and then he came back. So I've hired him twice because he's a good worker and he is very, he's a very nice person, just not just, you know, as a caregiver, but as a person. But he makes sure that he, he leaves on a good note. And when he's here, he does his best. And so I had no problem hiring him back. And one of his questions was, would you have to go through the program again? And I was like, no, tell me. Just apply normally and let me know when you do. So sometimes they do come. They do stay. They like the work and they come and they make it a home. They make it their home in there. And do they sometimes recommend to their friends and acquaintances Providence as an employer? And have you seen other applicants that have been sort of recruited from. Yes. So for some. For some of them, there will be friends or wives or, you know, things of that nature. Sometimes they think that the person has to go through the catholic social services or something, and we have to guide them that, no, they do not. They can apply and things of that nature on their own. We've had some family members replace caregivers when they have left the department because we have built relationships with families also. Very nice. So it's kind of a thing where they're comfortable enough or they become comfortable enough. And I think they look at it like, this is a good place to work and it's a good place to start a career or come and stay for, until retirement, which is fine by me. Institutional knowledge. And so it's, you know, it's been, it's been a joy also to see that type of thing happening. When they do start to recommend, they're comfortable enough and they start to learn the processes and understand things a lot better and understand how to do things so you can kind of see from the starting point until they are starting to learn independently and grasp things. And it's a. You know, it's. It's a heartwarming to see these things. Yeah. And definitely when they start recommending people, they're like, come work. My area is great. I'm like, yes, give me the good people. And in addition to environmental services, which is our custodial staff, the other departments we have typically hired for trainees are laundry services, food, nutrition services. In fact, Brigit and I are working on onboarding our first one for that since we put a halt to it during the pandemic, and general stores, which is our supply chain management. So there's a small variety of different types of jobs that CSS raise. Trainee can go into. Expanded. Oh, has it expanded? Yes, because in the past, I think it was only ebs and laundry. So that's good to know and good to hear. Oh, okay. From my experience, it was historically only ebs and laundry. So that's good. Yeah. So that's great. And we look forward to having them here. For me, I think it's. What's inspiring to me about this program is seeing our new trainees thrive after they've been here for such a short period of time and seeing them succeed after they've gone through so many challenges, having to leave their home and having to resettle into a new community that is on the other side of the world, literally, from where they're from. And, again, it's just right in line with our mission. What about you, Crystal What's inspiring to you about this program? So, for me, it's the fact that when they do come and they, like you said, they come from hardships or they come from leaving their home, and they come from leaving everything that they know, know that they're comfortable with, that they love, probably. I love to see when they start to make their own friendships within our department and when they start hanging out, you know, because sometimes when they come here and they, you know, they might come alone and they might not have family, they might not have friends. And so it can be a. Also a rough time, mentally, I would say, because some people don't do good by themselves, you know, or some people want to go out. And so for me, I think that because my staff, they will feed you. They do not care who you are or where you come from. They will feed you. They will give you a ride home, give you a ride to work. And so I think for some of the trainees, when they come, come, and they don't have that. You know, they have the support of the program, but when they don't have that, you know, individual support of a friend or an ear to bend or something like that. Socially. Yes, socially. And they come, and then they notice and they start to interact with other staff that have been here, and then I hear them making plans, like going to pinkberries. Have you ever. Pinkberry's Have you ever, you know, have you ever went hiking? Have you been a flat top? And things of that nature? And they might even have a language barrier with the person that's asking. Right. They might not grasp fully what the person's saying, but they hold on till they understand, oh, no, no, no. Or yes, yes, yes. And then you see them open up like, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna. Yes, please come get me. This is my address, or this, or are we going to do this together? And you see them foster those social relationships, and then it starts to feel a little bit comfortable, more comfortable for them as a person, because it is very hard. I have noticed, and I've been a part of that. When you do have to move and you have to leave everything you love, it's very heartwarming and takes your mind off things. When somebody else is there to welcome you and friend you and want to know how your day is going, you know, that's fantastic. I feel like food and sharing food of your culture is kind of a universal pleasure. I know, Brigit that you, with our recent Afghanistan reputation, refugees, they have had. They've shared meals recently or dishes with.

23:28 The community, with our pop up restaurants. Yeah. So another job training program.

23:38 They sold the dishes. Right. That you need, and the community loved it, and they sold out.

23:46 And I think, too, like, yes, we eat a lot of good food. We're in a great field for that. But I think you're, like, right on about all that community building aspect, too. And the America as America is, it's very job focused. So when people are resettled, it's like, okay, you get, like, a second to catch your breath, and then you need to find a job that's, like, a lot to ask of someone, you know? So it always really makes me so excited to connect people with. If I can't connect them with something that's in their field, you know, connecting them with an employer that's really care, caring and, like, really cares for them, is there to, like, be like, oh, I don't want you to take the bus tonight. It's like, you know, negative five. Like, let me just, you know, and none of those things are ever, like, required from employers, obviously. But I do find that people make their own connections, obviously, and they'll come in and be like, oh, I love my job. Like, I love the people I work with. And that's always so good to hear. Oh, this is awesome. I'm glad that you were able to have that stability and also have it be not something that you dread going to. I think it's a special thing for anyone to have a job that they enjoy, but especially, I think, for people who are brand new to everything here.

25:22 Absolutely. Well, let's see. I think one of the things that we were asked to address the impact of this program on our team, which you've already kind of alluded to, Crystal but also in the communities we serve. So in our Anchorage community, I feel like there's a lot of open positions in our community right now and, but there's a lot of people that also are looking for work. And so it, I feel like we're doing our part to help with finding those matches in a very unique way. So generally I feel like this program impacts my department. Yes. Okay. Can you hear me better now?

26:32 I think so.

26:35 Maybe.