Story and Photo by Tracy Reed
"When was the last time having a good meal was a good deed?"
Since 1993, Common Meals, a non-profit organization committed to ending homelessness in Seattle, has been training and placing homeless men and women in the food services industry. Why the food industry, you might ask? Entry level positions are plentiful and despite the many negative aspects of working in the booming service sector, it is possible to work your way into higher paying positions. Additionally, work skills acquired by students in the Common Meals training program also help them in pursuing other job opportunities.
Executive Director Cheryl Sesnon points out that not all of the students remain in restaurant work after the job training program. Kent Williams, a recent graduate, is currently working nights at Place Pigalle as a pantry cook and dishwasher while studying to become a medical assistant in the morning. Another student aims to enter the field of education upon graduating from Common Meals.
The Common Meals job training program encompasses a highly structured array of hands-on work experience, classroom instruction in professional work skills, and individual counseling. The emphasis is on work maturity skills that strengthen students' assertive communication, self-esteem, stress management, and problem solving abilities. Nearly 90 percent of the students' classtime is spent learning how to prepare a resumŽ, interview, deal with conflicts, ask for a day off, and other often overlooked work skills.
Common Meals operates jointly with the Private Industry Council's Homeless Initiative Pilot Project (HIPP). HIPP coordinates support for the students, which includes funding for a full-time case manager, issuing a $2 per hour stipend to student workers, and connecting students to YMCA resources for living assistance and transitional housing. Thus, the Common Meals staff is able to focus on students' training while also assisting them in acquiring the basics, such as proper shoes and clothing.
Recruitment begins with informational meetings at various homeless shelters, recovery programs, and other Seattle support services. The only requirements for admission are that the applicant must be willing to end homelessness in their life and have an interest in the food industry. Drug and alcohol addicts are not excluded from admission, but must be committed to their recovery. Laurie Thompson, Director of Development, says the ultimate criteria is that the applicants be employable, "We are pretty open to giving everybody an opportunity." Students' difficulty in maintaining their recovery is the predominant reason for leaves-of-absence.
The program's success speaks for itself. For three straight months, students have enjoyed 100 percent job placement upon graduation, and over the last year 85 percent of all students placed were still employed three months later. Common Meals trains 65-70 people annually. The average starting wage of program graduates is $7.49 per hour.
Common Meals graduate Kent Williams (left) and Executive Director Cheryl Sesnon.
Williams' story is one of hard work in the face of tough luck. After an unsuccessful venture on a fishing boat, he found himself living in the back of a semi-trailer and facing a Common Meals poster in the Bread of Life Mission. Williams met the owner of Place Pigalle prior to entering the job training program and began working a 7am shift there. Williams didn't own an alarm clock and didn't want to live in the missions for fear of getting used to having them as an option. He hardly slept for fear of being late. He says that he never wants to forget how rough it is to be homeless so that he'll never let it happen again. According to Williams, "The program's success is getting people off the street, period. So they don't go back." Williams helps out as a volunteer so that the program will still be there for others who need it.
Thompson notes that although the local support of premier chefs, restaurants, and major donors has been outstanding, Common Meals, like most non-profit agencies, is struggling to make ends meet. With only eight full-time staff, five part-time employees and an average of 12 students in training, Common Meals is open for breakfast and lunch from 8am to 2pm Monday through Friday, prepares 600 Head Start and homeless shelter meals every day, and manages a catering service in addition to the job training program. Common Meals is not only about jobs, it's about food.
Perhaps the most appetizing affair Common Meals engages in is their weekly Guest Chef Night. Every Thursday, the cafŽ, at 1902 Second Avenue, is open for dinner with a three-course menu created by a chef from a well-known area restaurant. Local chefs spend the afternoon and evening at Common Meals, teach the daily class, and prepare the meal with the students. All of the ingredients for the dinner menu are donated by the sponsoring restaurant, making Guest Chef Night an exciting and reliable fundraiser for Common Meals. Nearly every week there is a student graduation in which the graduates receive a certificate, a set of knives, and recognition for their outstanding courage in completing the 12-week program. Some patience may be required, but when your waiter nervously apologizes for neglecting to take your order by noting that he's "just glad [he] hadn't lost the damn thing," you begin to sense just how far the students progress over the course of the program. At a recent graduation, one of the students commented that she felt as though she could be proud of her own name again. The experience is difficult to describe, but definitely mark a date on your calendar to attend one of these meals. At $8.50 a plate, it's a bargain for the soul as well as the stomach.
Support this creative self-help program for the homeless: attend Guest Chef Night (reservations accepted for parties of six or more), have your next lunch meeting in the restaurant, transfer all your catering needs to their door, volunteer, or donate. As one student put it: "Don't forget us, just don't forget that we are here."
For more informaion, call Common Meals at (206) 443-1233.
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Contents on this page were published in the August/September, 1995 edition of the Washington Free Press.
WFP, 1463 E. Republican #178, Seattle, WA -USA, 98112. -- WAfreepress@gmail.com
Copyright © 1995 WFP Collective, Inc.