Susan Marr and her family found help recovering from setbacks brought on by the economic crisis through eastern Kentucky’s workforce development system.

Susan had been satisfied as a stay-at-home mother, but when her husband lost his job at the Kellogg’s plant in Pikeville last spring both he and she needed to find work to make up for the lost income.

Susan, who is not a Pike County native, found she had few local contacts to aid in her job search.

“How could I find the connections? I was coming from home schooling my kids for 10 years, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t qualified,” Susan said.

Fortunately, she heard that Job Clubs of Eastern Kentucky, a small-group support system for job seekers administered by Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP), was starting a job club in Pikeville. Susan and her husband both joined it.

Susan and her husband were committed to getting “back in the saddle” with jobs that would provide for their family. Networking through the Job Club, Susan’s husband was able to find financial assistance to go back to school and train for a new career and Susan was able to embark on her first job in years.

The Job Club facilitators were able to connect Susan with the JobSight workforce center and refer her to the WorkNow Kentucky program. WorkNow was a statewide initiative that placed unemployed and underemployed people in temporary jobs at no cost to the employer. Susan was placed at the Pike County Courthouse to work with Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford’s staff.

“We realized quickly she was a nice person, and very efficient.  She made our jobs easier by being so organized,” the judge said.

Charles Carlton, Susan’s supervisor, was impressed with how quickly she picked things up.

“We found out fast she was capable of handling things,” Caltron said.

When WorkNow ended Judge Rutherford and his staff were sad that they could not keep her as a full-time employee.

“We were in the middle of a hiring freeze and just were not able to hire at that time,” the judge said. “I always tell people if they come through a program like this and we can help them we will.”

Through another JobSight referral Susan began working another temporary job as a case manager for a flood disaster relief program in Pike County. The program was provided through a National Emergency Grant obtained through the efforts of EKCEP and its partners.

In the meantime, Judge Rutherford recommended hiring Susan to the Pike Fiscal Court and asked them to lift the freeze because of her circumstances. On January 3, 2011 Susan became a full-time employee at the Pike County Courthouse as an assistant to the director of the Department of Energy and Community Development.

“Many people just need a break. They need a hand up and not a hand out,” the judge said. “When she came here to work we observed that we had someone who was extremely qualified, and when an opportunity comes we are always looking for good quality people.”

“People take exception to the stimulus package but it has provided real people with real jobs,” Caltron said.

Susan could not be happier about the process and the results — from Job Club to JobSight, from temporary summer worker to permanent employee.

“What I appreciated about the Job Club and JobSight was the people who were willing to get to know you as an individual and made us feel like they were looking out for our best interest,” Susan said.

“I know God has a plan, even when things aren’t going okay,” Susan said. “Overriding all that is that God has a plan and is watching over us.”

For more information about EKCEP and its local programs, visit EKCEP on the Web at www.ekcep.org or www.facebook.com/ekcep. Or call 606-218-2106 to find out about Workforce Investment Act services available in your area.