MARIETTA, Ohio — A program that trains people in behavioral health recovery for manufacturing jobs has already placed three people into factory work and offered about 30 training sessions since it launched last month in southeast Ohio, according to reporting by The Post, Ohio University’s student newspaper, republished by the Appalachian Ohio Manufacturers’ Coalition.
The program, called Made in Appalachia, is run by the Appalachian Ohio Manufacturers’ Coalition, known as AOMC, a nonprofit based in Marietta that creates manufacturing opportunities across Ohio’s Appalachian region, including internships, training, job shadowing and help with business funding and job searching, according to The Post. The Ohio Department of Behavioral Health granted $3 million to AOMC to create the program, according to The Post.
Hunter Warsinsky, AOMC’s workforce development manager, said a primary goal of the program is to address the need for essential manufacturing workers, which people in recovery programs can fill, according to The Post. "There are currently 278,000 workers nearing retirement, and we’re only going to have about 155,000 who are going to be entering the workforce," Warsinsky told The Post. "So we have a population gap of like 123,000. That’s across all southeastern Ohio, and we realize that individuals in recovery and second chance, they’re being overlooked to receive positions in manufacturing."
The process starts with readiness. The nonprofit first connects participants with case managers to ensure they are ready for the next step in their recovery, then meets with potential participants, evaluates obstacles they might face and provides training if they are deemed ready, Warsinsky said, according to The Post. Once participants complete training, they are placed in a job, and AOMC provides support for the first six months to a year to ensure job retention, according to The Post.
Placement is based on an individual’s interests, according to The Post, and mill operation training provides participants with quick training if they are unsure what they want to pursue within manufacturing, Warsinsky said, according to The Post.
A second piece of the model is removing the barriers that quietly end jobs. AOMC built barrier-reduction into the program to identify obstacles preventing individuals from working and help them find solutions, according to The Post. Colt Morningstar, AOMC’s workforce program coordinator, said he built connections with local services, such as the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, to find accessible solutions for obstacles including SNAP benefits, Medicaid eligibility and clothing vouchers, according to The Post.
"We’re not just giving somebody a phone number for the resource," Morningstar told The Post. "We call the resource with them because we know how to navigate the system, and then we say, ‘Hey, this person needs this,’ or they need Medicaid or whatever the case is. We just give those warm handoffs and we help them as much as we can."
Morningstar also created a funding process that makes any person who gets a certificate through the program eligible for a $1,200 stipend, according to The Post. Participants often use the money for rent, transportation and other basic needs that contribute to their ability to work, Morningstar said, according to The Post. "At the end of the day, we’re trying to get second-chance people an opportunity to have not just a job, but a career and also support them while they’re trying to get it because a lot of people, it’s not that they don’t want to work or they can’t get a job," Morningstar told The Post. "It’s the fact that, you know, they just don’t have any opportunity or help when trying to find a career or find a job."
Stigma is the hardest part of the process, Warsinsky said, according to The Post. "We call them second-chance, and it’s like, well, how long does a person have to identify as a second-chance before we actually give them a second chance or like take that off of them," Warsinsky told The Post. To help answer that, Morningstar created the Workforce Academy, a five-day training that covers interpersonal skills and financial education to demonstrate participants’ character and commitment to manufacturers, according to The Post.
Morningstar served time in prison himself and said he faced stigma for his past, according to The Post. "I didn’t understand that you’re still paying a debt even though society says you’ve already paid it, and I think just giving those people an opportunity to prove people wrong and show that they’re worthy is really important, and I think we’re making a big impact on that," Morningstar told The Post.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: the $3 million state grant, the three placements and the roughly 30 training sessions to date are confirmed in The Post’s reporting. What has not been announced is a placement target for the program’s first full year, which manufacturers beyond the first placements have signed on, or how the $1,200 stipend fund is capped as enrollment grows.
Related coverage from NewsForce247: southeast Ohio communities are investing in people and institutions this fall — read about the Straker Foundation’s $200,000 in awards to 18 Muskingum County groups, and about the Athens Veterans Day parade returning Nov. 11 with the Marching 110.
What happens next: AOMC continues enrolling participants through its Marietta office and its case-manager referrals, with training sessions and Workforce Academy cohorts feeding placements across the region’s manufacturers. Readers can reach the coalition at 740-672-5183 or [email protected], according to AOMC.
Photo: Shixart1985, CC BY 2.0