DATE: Sunday, August 10, 1997               TAG: 9708100072

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY KIA MORGAN ALLEN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   68 lines

JOB TRAINING GIVES MANY SKILLS FOR NEW DIRECTION

It was a family reunion of sorts for the sizable crowd that made the pilgrimage to Lafayette Park Saturday for pizza, conversation, and hugging and kissing folks like they were kin.

They came as promised, having successfully completed the Norfolk Works job-training program. The graduates from the first to the 14th class met up with old schoolmates they last saw in the confines of a classroom.

Clarence ``Bunny'' Brown was there. Just as proud as a new parent, Brown approached a park bench with a leather organizer in hand, filled with credentials that would back up the recent achievements he claimed.

``See, these are my GED scores,'' he said, showing off a paper with numbers and figures.

He pointed to the bottom half.

``It says pass,'' said Brown, 46. ``I was elated to see that word pass on it.

``I never got the pomp and circumstance from 30 years ago. I feel just like a new graduate from high school.''

Brown, who had open-heart surgery two years ago and recently finished the four-month training program in six weeks, said his bragging rights are due. He gives much credit to Norfolk Works and the counselors who nudged him along the way.

Shirley Braswell, another graduate, also received support from the program's coordinators. Braswell, who said she is a recovering cocaine addict, said she came to the reunion to show her love and offer encouragement to others on the same path, after having ``been there, done that.''

``If I can do it, anybody can do it. I was an addict, I was homeless, I was in jail for 30 days. I was raped. I did it all. And now look,'' said Braswell, dressed fashionably in a black leather two-piece outfit.

Braswell, 38, bounced back from what she called ``rock bottom'' to complete the Norfolk Works job-training program and land a housekeeping job at Norfolk State University. She plans to open a shop and market fashions to women with full figures like hers.

There were many success stories, like Braswell's and Brown's, being swapped on Saturday, like family secrets being shared by a fireside.

Norfolk Works helps its students to develop long-range objectives, while attending classes, learning and practicing skills that will help them land a job in the long run.

The 3-year-old education, job-training and skills-development program, set up by the city and the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, is funded by a $3 million federal ``enterprise community'' grant. Counselors guide and track students for up to four years.

Just in its third year, the Norfolk Works family decided to organize its first reunion to celebrate the fruits of its labor.

Gayland George, one of the first students to graduate from the program, arrived at the park with her most treasured gift of all: her 5-month-old daughter.

She still considers herself a success story, but admits she got off track a little. George, who aspires to be a cook, plans to attend Johnson & Wales sometime in the near future when her hands are a little less full.

And as the day wound down, folks having good food and fun decided to stay a little longer than the noon to 4 p.m. time slot the celebration was set for.

In one corner, volleyballs were being whacked over a net, while in another the chit-chatter of Norfolk Works alumni continued.

``I think it was done very well,'' said Thelma F. Harrison, a board member. ``We're already making long-range plans for next year.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

Clarence ``Bunny'' Brown graduated from the Norfolk Works

job-training program and now has his GED. KEYWORDS: JOBS PROGRAM EMPLOYMENT

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