OUR IMPACT
Shaping Plans into Extraordinary Lives.
For nearly a century, Life’sWork has made a difference in the lives of many of our fellow citizens.
We champion social inclusion, focusing on the individual needs and lives of the people we work with to provide them with the training, support and education they need to advance through the phases of career development and achieve their goals.
Our Success Stories
Verna began her journey with Life’sWork in 1994 in the facility workshop, performing assembly and material-handling jobs, and then she moved to the mobile janitorial crew. With each opportunity, Verna’s skills and confidence increased, and she transitioned to a small group staffing assignment at the Gamma Sports Warehouse, packaging tennis rackets and related materials. In 2004, Verna helped pilot a project between Life’sWork and Kennywood Park to perform cleaning tasks in dining areas. She did so well that she was invited by Kennywood to return each summer for 15 years. In 2017, Verna participated in an assessment program at the Jubilee Soup Kitchen in the Uptown section of Pittsburgh. During that assessment, she worked alongside a volunteer in the kitchen who turned out to be the head chef at the Pittsburgh Convention Center. So impressed by Verna’s work, the chef invited her for a job interview, and Verna was subsequently hired as a dishwasher. Like all of us, Verna’s work life was disrupted by the pandemic. However, Verna has reconnected with Life’sWork, including engaging with the Community Participation program. She is ready to resume a job search for competitive employment with the assistance of the Life’sWork Supported Employment program in her community of McKeesport.
Steve first engaged with Life’sWork through the Youth & Transition Services program; he entered the Adult Services program in 2015. From the beginning, Steve has always stated that his number-one goal was to work in food service. While he began in the production facility, Steve expanded his work to include the Life’sWork cafeteria when the organization was located on Forbes Avenue in Uptown. With added skills, Steve transitioned to a work-based learning experience at the Ben and Jerry’s Ice-Cream Shop, which Life’sWork operated through 2017, performing duties including cleaning, stocking the freezers, and scooping and serving ice cream. When the store closed, Steve returned to the facility and also tried a small group staffing assignment at the Gamma Sports Warehouse. However, he continued to insist that what he really wanted to do was to find an opportunity in food service.
Under the Life’sWork Community Participation Support (CPS) program, he frequently asked to volunteer at the Jubilee Soup Kitchen in Uptown. There, he served lunches and washed dishes and was commended for his work. In May of 2021, Steve’s interests and a work opportunity aligned. He began a small group staffing assignment at 5 Generation Bakers in McKees Rocks. Steve has become a valued team member at the bakery and also works occasionally at the University of Pittsburgh recycling center. Steve’s energy and openness to new opportunities have led him to achieve his goals while gaining confidence and increased independence.
“It’s so much easier when your Life’sWork RECOVER specialist has already been through their own struggle and knows what I am dealing with. They helped me find the job I’m in right now, and I have been working there for almost a year.”
Patrick moved back to Pittsburgh and had fears and concerns about how he was going to navigate his transportation barrier and pay for rent without having a job. Patrick was connected to Life’sWork through a support system for those in recovery from substance use disorders (SUD) and began working with a Certified Recovery Specialist (CRS) at Life’sWork. Our team worked with Patrick to give him a person-centered plan to discover his passions and build his resources. With help from his Life’sWork CRS, Patrick recognized he was not alone, discovered his assets, and took the necessary steps to pursue a career that aligns with his passions.
“These last couple of years, just having different programs like Life’sWork there to support me and help me. . . . I appreciate that because it really did help. It was there and I needed that support that I didn’t have.”
When Nakeisha connected with Life’sWork, she was struggling, and she and her kids were living in temporary shelter housing. With a Life’sWork case manager by her side, Nakeisha and her children moved into their own apartment, the children were enrolled in school, and Nakeisha began taking classes at the local community college. Life’sWork connected Nakeisha to community resources available in churches, schools, and food banks to help bring stability and opportunity to Nakeisha and her family.
MAY 2018 CLIENT HIGHLIGHT
Will Smith first began with Life’sWork by working in the kitchen. He quickly made an impression with his counselors as he went above and beyond the call of duty. Will became the Employee of the Month in May 2018 before moving up to the mailing section of our third-floor workshop.
From the Wilkinsburg area, Will spent some time in Kentucky working through Job Corps before returning home to Pittsburgh. When he’s not working, Will spends his free time playing his PlayStation or watching Marvel movies. He also enjoys traveling to amusement parks such as Six Flags and Kalahari. Will wants to continue his job training with Life’sWork and hopes to one day become a truck driver so he can travel across the country and visit new places. Thank you, Will, for all your hard work. We are so happy to have you in our Life’sWork family.
CLIENT HIGHLIGHT
Brittany Baron, one of our clients at Life’sWork Mon Valley Division, starts each day happy and energetic and ready to take on new challenges. For over a year now, Brittany has been employed at Jazzy Boutique located just down the street from the Life’sWork facility in Belle Vernon. Jazzy Boutique is a unique place to shop, carrying quality consignment clothing and jewelry. In addition to hiring Brittany, Jazzy Boutique works with other nonprofit organizations and homeless shelters throughout the region.
Diann Donaldson is the owner of Jazzy Boutique. She formerly worked as a workforce development specialist at Life’sWork in Belle Vernon. Her previous work experience with our organization inspired her to become an entrepreneur and to continue working with Life’sWork to provide employment opportunities to individuals with disabilities. Diann is very thankful to be able to work with Brittany and believes that she is “truly an inspiration to us all.” Brittany spends her shifts organizing and sorting the clothing for Diann and greets customers with a smile. “She is excited about work every day she comes in. It’s contagious,” Diann says.
2016 CLIENT OF THE YEAR
Keith Allison first joined us at Life’sWork of Western PA in 2013 for a vocational evaluation. From there, he joined the Mobile Work Crew and did community-based assessments through the Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust. Keith feels that one of the reasons he was so successful was due to the fact that he was able to take full advantage of the services at Life’sWork. His community-based assessment was at ReStore with Habitat for Humanity, and it was his success with ReStore that led him to his search for completive employment.
When he applied to the McDonald’s Restaurant in Pleasant Hills, Keith’s counselor was concerned about him working in such a fast-paced environment and suggested Keith start there under his grant-funded program. However, the McDonald’s management saw something in him and decided to give Keith an opportunity for employment. Keith did so well right from the start that the McDonald’s management offered him a permanent position. He has excellent attendance and has great interaction with all the customers. Keith has continued to work at the McDonald’s since June 2014. He has been independently maintaining his employment at the restaurant, with occasional follow-up appointments from his counselor at Life’sWork.
Prior to his arrival in Pittsburgh and at Life’sWork, Keith lived in Modesto, California. While living in California, he spent over a decade working for Pizza Hut. Keith started participating in the Special Olympics at age 8, competing in track, soccer, basketball, and more, earning four gold medals in track. When he’s not working, Keith helps babysit his two young nieces.
2015 CLIENT OF THE YEAR
Theresa Curry was originally referred to Life’sWork in July 2010 through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) where she was enrolled in the customer service representative training program. After completion of the program, she began working at Owen’s Dry Cleaners as a customer service representative, welcoming the customers to the store, receiving and processing their garments, and completing financial transactions. Theresa enjoyed her job; however, business was slow, and after devoting a year to working there, she decided that she wasn’t making enough money and resigned.
In 2013 she decided to pursue a new career path devoted to serving others. Of course, serving others wasn’t new to Theresa because she’s always displayed a generous spirit. She has and continues to volunteer at the Salvation Army Toy Drive every Christmas, is a youth counselor in her community, and runs her own personal day care Monday through Friday in the evenings.
Theresa and her OVR counselor decided that a peer support counselor would be the perfect job fit her, so she began her training in January of 2013. She reported that the training was a rewarding experience for her, but after graduation she could not find a job. Theresa has always been a positive person, but her morale started to decline after not being able to find work for almost a year. Things stated to change however, when she started to work with her new employment specialist, Lindsey Smith, in May 2014. Theresa expressed her goal of wanting to be a peer support specialist. Within the next few weeks, Lindsey was able was able to connect with Amanda Bloxam, the human resource specialist for the Peer Support and Advocacy Network (PSAN). Over the next four weeks, Theresa went through a series of interviews and background checks, and on June 18, 2015, Theresa began her orientation to work part-time on the Peer Support Hotline.
On June 25th, Theresa told Lindsey that she thoroughly enjoyed her position at PSAN, and in addition she planned on enrolling in the drug and alcohol training program at Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) to become a D&A youth counselor. With the help of OVR, Theresa was able to begin classes in August, and in June of 2015 she received a diploma in drug and alcohol training. Both Theresa’s counselor, Kim Davis, and Human Resource Coordinator Amanda Bloxam have stated how proud they are of Theresa’s accomplishments.
In the fall of 2015, Theresa was promoted and given the role of mobile peer support specialist, allowing her to engage face-to-face with her clients on a weekly basis. As much as she enjoys face-to-face contact, she still reserves one day a week to work the hotline. When asked what she plans on doing with her drug and alcohol training, she reported that she plans on using that knowledge to become a more effective peer support specialist. Theresa has found her niche in life and doesn’t plan on leaving PSAN any time soon.
Delvin Turner grew up just a short distance from Life’sWork in the Hill District. “I was always aware of the great work Life’sWork did, having had several family members go through the program,” he said.
Prompted by those same family members, when he was 13, Delvin entered the Life’sWork Project Choice program as a shy and introverted pre-teen. He was later referred to the Ben and Jerry’s training program, which supported youth in becoming more focused, increasing self-esteem, and developing socially.
Through the Ben and Jerry’s program, Delvin not only thrived but exceeded expectations by becoming a trainer to his peers, taking on leadership responsibilities, and embracing his status as a role model for other participants, eventually moving up to an assistant manager. The confidence Delvin developed transferred to his educational pursuits; he funded his tuition to Central Catholic High School through an academic scholarship and while a senior at La Salle University was selected as one of 20 students to attend the Trials Program at Harvard University’s Law School.
Upon graduation, Delvin returned to Life’sWork not as a program participant but as a youth counselor. “Life’sWork set me in the right direction to achieve success, and now I want to help others accomplish their goals,” he says.
He studies civil rights law at UCLA, and he said at a young age, while learning about Thurgood Marshall, he realized that through the practice of law he could fight against the racial inequalities he witnessed around him. Generational poverty, education levels, employment, crime, and incarceration are just a few of the issues he hopes to address in his future endeavors as a civil rights lawyer.
Everyone at Life’sWork is confident in his determination and work ethic to accomplish all the goals he sets for himself. And while Delvin is quick to thank his counselors, Angela Huffman and Randy Kienzle, as well as Life’sWork’s President and CEO Everett McElveen for supporting and being a mentor to him, we know that there are many youth who have benefitted from Delvin’s service at Life’sWork.
Thurgood Marshall once said, “None of us got where we are by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody—a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony, or a few nuns—bent down and helped us pick up our boots.”
With three older brothers and three older sisters all living in different states, you can imagine how well traveled John Petritis must be. However, when it comes to his attendance at work, it is a whole other story. Even when his father and mother try to take a long weekend with him so he can enjoy one of his favorite hobbies or visit a family member, John puts his foot down and says no because that would mean that not only would he miss work on Friday, but he would miss pay day as well.
After graduating high school at the age of 21, John was referred to the Life’sWork Belle Vernon office to help him achieve employment. Like with any new job, one barrier that John experienced was simply getting acclimated to the work environment. In an effort to find employment that fit what John was interested in and could be successful with, he participated in a community-based assessment (CBA) at the local Dollar General. While the CBA was successful, John decided that retail was just not his calling and that he wanted to go back to Life’sWork to work in the workshop.
When asked what his favorite part about working is, John said that he likes to get up early and go to work with his friends. His favorite job to work on is the metal work done
in the workshop for All-Clad Metal Crafters. He says that he likes not only that he gets to work with metal but also that he makes “a lot of money” doing it. By far his favorite day of the week is Friday because he gets his paycheck and can take his family out to dinner.
When John is not at work, he keeps very busy. He participated in the Special Olympics and medaled for his skills in golf. John has been playing golf, bowling, basketball, and track and field since he was 9 years old. He is also a member of the Knights of Columbus and volunteers on a regular basis at his church and at the Vacation Land Campground.
“John has a great work ethic and loves coming to work,” says Cindi Power, John’s vocational counselor at Life’sWork. “During his employment years at Life’sWork, he has accomplished a great sense of independence and skill knowledge and can perform most of the jobs assigned.”