The computer that sits glowing in the corner of Janie Davis’ office at the Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) in Salyersville serves as a reminder of how far she has come in recent years.

Three years ago, Janie would have been scared to turn the machine on, much less try to use it for anything important. Today, Janie uses it track of thousands of life-sustaining medical prescriptions for nearly 300 elderly or disabled people.

At age 51, after being a homemaker most of her adult life, Janie got the skills she needed to land her first real job, with help from the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Work Experience Program.

“Up until three years ago, I always wanted to just stay at home and take care of my family,” she said. “But for some reason, I began to have the desire to work.”

As prescription assistant for the nonprofit agency, Janie acts as a liaison between pharmaceutical companies and 300 elderly and disabled people in Magoffin and Pike counties who do not have prescription coverage. CAP pays most or all of the cost of prescriptions for these people, after Janie fills out and processes their paperwork. When her clients receive their medications on time and without any problems, Janie considers her job well done.

“This is where I’m supposed to be, and I know that,” Janie said. “I have never had a job where I am so satisfied and happy.”

When she decided to enter the job market, Janie knew she would first have to conquer her fear of using computers. In late September 2001, Janie began asking her friends about ways to get computer training. One friend reminded her that a fellow church member—Sandra Caudill—was the WIA director for the Big Sandy Area Community Action Program and suggested that she approach Sandra about computer training.

Janie talked with Sandra and the two agreed she would be a good candidate for the WIA Work Experience Program. The program is administered by the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP) and provided in Magoffin, Martin, Floyd, Johnson, and Pike counties by the Big Sandy Area Community Action Program.

Janie got started with computer classes taught by Mike Goble, an instructor for the Big Sandy Area Community Action Program. However, it was her WIA Work Experience assignment in the offices of the Johnson County Road Department that provided Janie the hands-on experience she had been looking for.

She began slowly, learning while she worked with some one-on-one training from road department staff. Once she learned her way around the office computer, Janie started working with the roads supervisor to complete the daily reports that detail where the department’s trucks traveled, who drove them, what they carried, how much the loads weighed, and the costs of the loads. After some work, Janie was able to navigate the spreadsheet program that creates the reports well enough to do them on her own and present the finished reports to the supervisor for review and approval.

“It was a big job to do all of that, and all of the amounts had to add up right every day,” she said.

Janie’s computer training didn’t end with the daily reports. The staff allowed her to continue working on the computer after she completed her daily tasks. She took advantage of that opportunity to learning how to create letters and graphs with various programs. Soon, Janie was enjoying her time on the computer instead of dreading the thoughts of using one.

Her determination and eager personality impressed her supervisor, so she also ended up answering the office’s phone calls, greeting customers and “holding down the fort” at times when other staff members were away from the office.

When Janie’s WIA Work Experience assignment ended, her confidence was higher than ever before, and she was eager to find a full-time job. She put the word out that she was looking for a job that would allow her to put her new job skills into action.

“I had computer experience for the first time in my life, so I knew I wouldn’t have to say ‘no’ when employers asked me if I could use a computer,” she said. “I did have experience answering the phones, and I did have experience running an office.”

After a few weeks, Janie got word that the Christian Appalachian Project was looking for a prescription assistant. She didn’t waste any time in making her intentions known.

“I got on the phone and bugged these people to death,” she laughed. “I kept on calling until they interviewed me.”

Janie’s tenacity paid off when she was granted an interview and chosen for the position. Today, three years into her job, Janie said she can’t imagine herself ever not working again. She said she hopes she can remain at the Christian Appalachian Project in some capacity as long as the agency will have her.

“If I hadn’t gone through the WIA, I wouldn’t have had the courage to step out and pursue this job like I did,” she said. “I just think it was in God’s plan for me to find out about the WIA and Big Sandy Area Community Action Program, and get the job.”

After her 90-day probation period at the Christian Appalachian Project ended, she became eligible for full benefits and was able to obtain medical insurance for herself and her husband for the first time in years. Although her husband owns a mobile home-moving business, the couple could not afford to pay skyrocketing private health insurance rates. The insurance soon proved crucial, she said, because her husband had to have surgeries on his knees, and later on his heart to repair an aneurysm that could have killed him.

“We’re just so thankful to have the insurance. God knew what we needed,” she said.

She considers her participation in the WIA Work Experience Program the crucial first step that led to all of the positive developments in her life over the past three years.

“I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God sent me to the Big Sandy Area Community Action Program and into the WIA program because I really and truly wouldn’t have known how to get out and find a job without it,” Janie said. “It was a gift from God.”