ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, July 17, 1996 TAG: 9607170042
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
LOOKING SHARP can be a crucial element of a job interview. Welfare recipients taking steps toward economic independence get help from a project tailored to their needs.
A large oblong rack of clothing - dresses, suits, blouses and slacks - crowds a small room in Roanoke's Beth Israel Synagogue.
The clothes aren't discards from dusty attics or damp basements. They are new or gently used items - some with the original tags still hanging from their sleeves - that have been donated by retailers, civic groups and individuals for one purpose: to help welfare recipients look polished and professional when job-hunting.
The "Clothes Closet" is a 6-month-old project of the Roanoke Department of Social Services' Employment Services Program. The employment program, a forerunner of Virginia's year-old welfare-to-work plan, is designed to help welfare recipients end their dependence on public assistance with job-skills classes, work experience, education and training.
The employment program's intent is to get recipients working in jobs that can earn them enough income to live without their monthly Aid to Families with Dependent Children check.
But "clients on AFDC don't always have appropriate clothing for job-seeking," said Bonnie White, Clothes Closet coordinator. "They're trying to work their way off AFDC. They don't have money to buy clothing."
The Employment Services Program receives a small amount of funding to buy certain work-related supplies for clients - required uniforms or shoes, said Corinne Gott, superintendent of the Roanoke Department of Social Services. But that funding doesn't cover the kind of clothing needed for a job interview - a tailored suit or a nice dress.
Nor does a monthly AFDC check.
"A $291-a-month check [the maximum AFDC benefit for an adult in Roanoke with two children] does not allow for clothing for a woman and her children," Gott said.
Last October, a Social Services employee approached Beth Israel Synagogue about donating leftover items from a rummage sale. Beth Israel, in Southwest Roanoke, not only donated clothing but also space for the Clothes Closet.
"I think there's a need," said Wanda Johnson, a Beth Israel employee who oversees the Clothes Closet operation. "I see that these people who come through here need the right kind of clothes to start jobs."
Social Services employees have posted fliers in exercise studios, corporate cafeterias - even weight-loss businesses, hoping newly slimmed people would be only too willing to part with old clothing.
Response has been good, White said.
A woman's clothing store donated new blouses, dresses and skirts. One man gave pants, shirts and four suits. A department store donated a box of slightly damaged goods that included 12 watches, all broken. A jewelry store fixed them at no charge.
To date, the Clothes Closet has served 40 clients, White said. Most have found work, either unpaid employment for the experience or full-time paying jobs in clerical, food service and day care positions, she said.
White has taken clients on "shopping" trips at the Clothes Closet, watched them sift through the rack and watched their reactions.
"I get the sense of feeling like I've helped them feel good about themselves," she said.
For more information on the Clothes Closet, contact Bonnie White at 981-2079. Large-size women's clothing is needed.
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN SPEARMAN/Staff. The clothing shown here is helpingby CNBmany on government
assistance land jobs. color.