BE Magazine Volume 5, Issue 2 - (Page 21) Road Home, which is part of Mayor John Hickenlooper’s 10-year Commission To End Homelessness plan. According to the program’s Web site, homelessness in the city has decreased by 11 percent since Denver’s Road Home was founded in 2005. “I have a long association with HOPE Worldwide, and I thought it would be great to use that connection and my technical expertise to help those in need,” said Roske. “Denver’s Road Home was developed as a transitional place for ex-offenders and others down on their luck. Studies on the homeless have found that 70 to 80 percent are people sleeping on a relative’s couch. Or they are single moms struggling to raise a family and might have missed some payments and lost their homes.” Roske planted the first seeds of his new program through an email to the mayor’s office. In it he described his Basic Employment Skills Training (BEST) and its companion Work Exchange Program. BEST gives Denver’s homeless an opportunity to acquire skills that ultimately can help them improve their earning potential. Roske’s email was forwarded to Betty Sparrow, director of the Office of Economic development, who agreed to meet with him and Baity. At their first meeting, Roske pitched the idea of partnering the corporate world, nonprofits, and the city to train the homeless on CAD modeling software donated by Bentley to give them marketable skills. “Betty pointed us to Jamie Van Leeuwen, project manager for Denver’s Road Home, and he loved the idea,” explained Roske. “He agreed to make BEST a component of the city project. We applied for a grant, got full funding, and got approval from Buddy Cleveland, senior vice president of Bentley’s Applied Research Group, to proceed with the program.” The program is backed by HOPE Worldwide; Bentley-donated CAD software; a $160,000 United Way grant; support from Volunteers of America, which supplied classroom space at its downtown mission; and Denver’s Road Home. “BEST is a complete package when it comes to collaboration,” said David Chaney, vice president of HOPE Worldwide’s U.S. operations. “The biggest challenge for us—and it was a very positive challenge—was getting everybody on the same page. HOPE’s role is providing a lot of the manpower to make the program work. That is our biggest strength.” Fighting homelessness is a major right turn for HOPE Worldwide, added Chaney. The nonprofit generally concentrates its efforts on helping youth and families with education issues, health-related issues, and disaster relief response. But homelessness is a growing piece of the HOPE mission, and Chaney is confident the program will be successful and lead to other opportunities for the organization in Denver. Building job skills Second life Participants start with soft-skills training that focuses on etiquette—what to wear to an interview, how to prepare for an interview, and how to be professional in an office setting. Hard skills include CAD training on the MicroStation platform, workflow management using the ProjectWise collaboration system, and training on PlantSpace P&ID, which will help participants service Denver’s large oil and gas sector. All BEST participants have access to the Bentley LEARN server self-paced eLearning curriculum. For their efforts, each participant is paid a $25 to $50 grocery-store gift card. The companion Work Exchange Program finds corporate partners willing to provide drafting projects to BEST participants. In fact, Roske has received confirmation from three firms that will train participants in 3D modeling. The firms will also provide paid assignments for the BEST participants consisting of simple drafting and technical data services projects. This experience will give the BEST participants a chance to enter the work force full-time. “Most of the Bentley user organizations I service have bulk work that they have little time or budget for—redlines, as-builts, redraws, and so on,” said Roske. “For example, one user organization has over 100,000 scanned drawings from which they would love to glean intelligence. Typically they would send those overseas and pay $5 to $10 a sheet.” He continued, “I thought it would be really easy to set up a ProjectWise server and let the Bentley user check in a chunk of those. Just getting familiar with drawings and data, and working with MicroStation and ProjectWise would give BEST participants a shot at a real job. Plus, they would be paid to learn.” Two program participants doing just that are Marty Whalen and Mickey Pedersen. Whalen is a tremendous asset to Baity, who runs the two-hour CAD class each day. Whalen holds a degree in chemistry and has held some very good jobs. Unfortunately, life has thrown Whalen a few curves, including a divorce and some poor life choices leading to his homelessness. “Marty is technically advanced and helps me teach class every day,” said Baity. “That responsibility has helped his confidence. He often stays when class is over and comes in when a class isn’t scheduled to sharpen his skills. He really wants a job in the market, and I believe he is close to being ready.” Pedersen has a background in construction, but has had few opportunities in that field recently. He sees the program as a new start and a chance to retain his connection to construction on the design side. Like Whalen, Pedersen works diligently to master the MicroStation program, often staying after class to practice. “The thought of being retrained and able to make a good living has brought great hope to Mickey,” stated Baity. “That is what is so rewarding about this program. It offers true hope to the participants. If they can master these skills, they have an opportunity to earn a good wage and regain their dignity.” Once the program is more fully evolved, future alliances between HOPE Worldwide and Bentley are sure to be on the horizon. The two organizations are devising strategies on how to marry their efforts and expand BEST’s Work Exchange Program across the United States. One city being discussed is Columbia, S.C., where the United Way is addressing homelessness. Other potential alliances with HOPE Worldwide and Bentley include international projects. Among them are a workforce development plan in India and wastewater treatment plants and water infrastructure projects in Afghanistan. As for Roske, his civil duty goes far beyond Denver’s Road Home project. Since pitching his BEST idea to Sparrow, Roske has joined Mayor Hickenlooper’s Workforce Investment Board, which develops and brings business to Denver and optimism to its less fortunate. Volume 5, Issue 2 | BE MAGAZINE 21
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