St. Joseph the Worker
Transforming Lives through Employment
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Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The best defense against homelessness or poverty is a job that pays enough to afford a place to live. Mainstream workforce programs generally are not able to address such complex, multiple issues or to provide the necessary ongoing support and encouragement our clients need. We acknowledge that the situations that lead to poverty and homelessness are as unique as the individuals experiencing them, so the solutions should be as unique as the individuals experiencing them.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Employment Without Barriers
At SJW we focus on being the best at one thing; employment.
What does it take to empower the job-seeker in front of us so that they can become successfully employed? Providing everything based on individual needs.
SJW offers everything from one-on-one coaching and direct connection to Valley employers and open job positions, to resume assistance, interview coaching and presentation pointers, professional clothing, bus passes for reliable transportation to and from interviews and new jobs, and Employment Success Strategies and Financial Coaching workshops.
The SJW service model allows us to pivot with the economy and employment landscape to be the most responsive and impactful at any given time; and allows the self-sufficient and healthy futures of our clients, not our funding, to be the focus and guidance of our program service delivery.
We get people the jobs they need when they need them most, starting them on a journey towards economic self-sufficiency and breaking cycles of familial poverty.
Where we work
External reviews
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Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of individuals securing employment
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people, Homeless people, Adults
Related Program
Employment Without Barriers
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
SJW’s metrics are simple because our mission is straightforward: we engage the willing and connect them to work. Our primary outcome is how many individuals secured quality employment.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
SJW's Employment Without Barriers program ultimate goals are for clients to gain and maintain quality employment. This is measured by the number and percentage of fully registered clients who gain employment.
In FY 21/22, SJW helped 7,312 individuals with some sort of employment service with 5,399 individuals struggling with homelessness and poverty gain employment; creating a direct pathway towards renewed hope and self-sufficiency. The average starting wage was $15.94 and 68% of the positions offered benefits.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our Employment Without Barriers program is our overarching program which includes our employment services, Employment Bridge, and Teen Workforce Initiative. This overarching program provides quality employment opportunities to individuals in Maricopa County experiencing homelessness and those at or below 100% of the federal poverty level. The goal of the program is to assist those who want to work in finding stable, quality employment to move them out of poverty and into financial independence. SJW does this by:
- Addressing a client’s unique needs to become employment ready through services including 1:1 coaching, online job search support, resume development, mock interview practice, financial literacy education, providing professional attire and uniforms, bus passes and gasoline cards, certification fees, and a sincere belief in a client’s ability to be successful.
- Connecting clients to meaningful employment opportunities which lead to economic self-sufficiency. Our Preferred Business Partnership program works alongside the Employment Without Barriers Program by partnering with local businesses that believe in our mission, who want to hire our clients, and who want to provide quality employment through proper onboarding, good workplace culture, benefits, and opportunities for advancement.
- Empowering clients to become and stay successfully employed by assessing their job-readiness and motivation and offering resources, direction, and encouragement.
Additionally, our Employment Specialists work with employed clients following up to see if they require additional support in the form of 1:1 coaching for career advancement, or to provide tangible support in the form of appropriate work clothing, a monthly bus pass, and covering the cost of employment pre-requisites such as uniforms, shoes, and tools.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
SJW's capability lies in our 30+ years of program delivery. SJW is unique and effective in that for three decades, we have stayed true to mastering our focused and streamlined mission: this agency helps people get jobs; giving them the opportunity to end their homelessness or extreme poverty. Unlike many other organizations, this is what SJW does exclusively; we are experts in our field.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Recent Organizational Highlights
• The only employment provider on the Human Services Campus, serving the homeless adult population in Phoenix
• 2014 - Outreach focus initiated which allowed SJW to expand beyond Central Phoenix and begin to respond to the reality of homelessness fanning out into the far reaches of Maricopa County.
• 2016 - Launched first ever mobile employment office in Arizona, our Mobile Success Unit (MSU)– a donated RV that was retrofitted to be an appropriate roving employment office
• Agency and community partnerships reached 90 in 2019 thanks to outreach and MSU efforts
• 2019 – launched the Teen Workforce Initiative in partnership with Dress for Success Phoenix to connect graduating seniors with quality employment and training
• 2019 – launched Step Up program and Preferred Business Partners* programs to connect and deepen relationships with the Valley’s employers
• First ever independent St. Joseph the Worker office opened in December 2019, second opened in November 2020, third location will open in July 2021
• 2020 – launched pilot program The Employment Bridge Program to directly address the lack of affordable housing in Arizona as well as the number one client-determined barrier to employment: a stable home
• We have doubled our budget twice in the last 6 years.
• We have grown to 24 full time and 2 part time employees
• In our most recently completed fiscal year (19/20), in the depths of the pandemic, we still supported 2,412 individuals into employment with $13.71 as the average starting wage and 85% receiving benefits
• May 2021 - we employed a record 900 individuals with over $17/hour as average starting wage
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
St. Joseph the Worker
Board of directorsas of 09/19/2023
Mrs. Ritta Fagain
WHYFOR Ventures, LLC
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
No data
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 09/01/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.