'These men are worth a second shot': Victory Mission's program gets men ready to work

Written by Jackie Rehwald, Springfield News-Leader

Charlie Spoon works on a computer board at SRC on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. Spoon used to be homeless and completed the workforce bootcamp program while staying at Victory Mission. Andrew Jansen/News-Leader

A few months ago, Charlie Spoon was homeless on the streets of Springfield. He recalled one particular day in May when he was hungry, dehydrated and exhausted.

He was pushing a shopping cart filled with his belongings down Commercial Street, searching for a place called Victory Mission, a shelter for homeless men someone told him about.

"I had been searching and walking around Springfield for hours and hours, miles pushing my shopping cart," Spoon said. "(I) was just kind of lost and didn't know where I was going. I bumped into this really nice gentleman named Jason."

Victory Mission Chaplain David Huett (left) helps Dan pick out a new pair of pants during the Victory Mission’s WorkReady BootCamp, which is designed to help homeless men prepare to enter the workplace, on Thursday, July 29, 2021. Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader

That nice man called Victory Mission to make sure the shelter had a bed for Spoon, and he offered to load Spoon's belongings and cart into his vehicle to bring Spoon to the shelter. Spoon declined, not wanting to get the man's vehicle dirty.

"He offered to pray for me, and it really meant a lot," Spoon said. "At that point in time, I didn't realize how much it meant."

The man gave Spoon directions to the shelter and went on his way.

Once at Victory Mission, Spoon said his life started getting better day by day.

Homeless men can stay at Victory Mission for free for 30 days. Victory Mission also has the one-year to 18-month Restoration Program and the Lodge, where men can pay rent to stay. All the men at Victory Mission are encouraged to become involved with a local church and participate by doing chores and attending classes.

"You felt like the people there actually care. They are concerned about your well-being," he said. "As long as you put in the effort, they are willing to put in the effort on their end, as well."

Boot camp helps men enter workforce

Spoon was among the first to participate in Victory Mission's new WorkReady BootCamp, an intensive three-day program currently available for the men in the "free side" of the shelter.

The WorkReady BootCamp is designed to help the men prepare to enter the workplace.

The classes teach strategies and resources to find and maintain meaningful work. They work through any barriers that have prevented them from acquiring or maintaining work in the past. The classes also address identity and self-confidence.

Men learn soft skills such as anger management and self-care. They prepare resumes, role-play interviews, and practice budgeting. Volt Credit Union and Bancorp South assist with finance courses. 

They also get to pick out clothes for the interview from Victory Mission's clothing bank, which has both new and donated clothes and shoes.

Through Victory Mission's partnership with Hudson Hawk, the men receive full-service haircuts so they can look and feel their best as they prepare for interviews. 

Victory Mission is partnering with local employers like SRC, Walmart, QPS Employment Group, ServPro HydroClean, Oasis Hotel & Convention Center, Cardinal Clippings and Metro Appliances, that offer interview and employment opportunities for the graduates.

"It was a really good learning experience," Spoon said. "I learned a lot about myself, about my struggles."

Though he'd been homeless off and on for several years and had some personal struggles, Spoon has about 18 years of experience working on medical electronic equipment.

Erin Malone, who works in human resources at SRC, conducted the interview with Charlie Spoon. Andrew Jansen/News-Leader

So when the opportunity to give his resume and interview with the Human Resources people from SRC Electrical, Spoon jumped at the chance. He, along with another man who went through the BootCamp program that week, were hired. Both are still employed with the manufacturing company.

Human Resources Director Erin Malone is among the SRC representatives who come to Victory Mission a few times a month to interview BootCamp graduates. She remembered meeting Spoon and the other graduates.

"They had three men that interviewed, and they were wonderful. They were prepared. They were well-spoken," Malone said. "They had their resume ready. We had two job offers basically on the spot."

Malone said she had no apprehension about hiring someone who at one point had been homeless and encouraged other businesses to consider doing the same.

"These men are worth a second shot. They really are," she said. "They are completing these programs. They are making an effort to make improvements in their lives. They can be really good additions to your team."

‘It was almost like divine intervention’

That well-dressed man who helped Spoon find his way to the shelter turned out to be Victory Mission Executive Director Jason Hynson.

Spoon didn't realize this when he spoke with the News-Leader this week. Spoon only knew the man's first name and that the man had an important job at Victory Mission.

Jeff C. participates in Victory Mission’s WorkReady BootCamp, which is designed to help homeless men prepare to enter the workforce, on Thursday, July 29, 2021. Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader

"I still need to meet up with him and thank him," Spoon said.

"It was almost like divine intervention, because I was lost, exhausted, dehydrated. I had blisters on my feet from walking miles and miles," he said. "He was an angel without wings. Honestly, I'd still be on the streets and who knows what kind of trouble I would have found."

Asked about the encounter, Hynson didn't want the focus to be about anything he'd done.

"Honestly, I just like to talk to people," he responded in an email. "I am not the story; however, it's just my job to ask what people may need."

Hynson went on to explain that idea for the WorkReady BootCamp program came from a conversation he had with Jack Stack, the founder, president and CEO of SRC Holdings Corporation.

Hynson said Stack told him: "If Victory can help them be ready for work, then SRC will teach them what to do."

Victory Mission Chaplain David Huett helps teach a class about conflict resolution in the workplace during Victory Mission’s WorkReady BootCamp., which is designed to help homeless men prepare to enter the workforce, on Thursday, July 29, 2021. Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader

And with Stack's idea, Victory Mission's Director of Outreach and Workforce Development John Pace and Family Ministry Chaplain Dave Huett put together the curriculum and plans for the BootCamp.

The program kicked off in June. Every other week, about five or six guys from the shelter spend all day Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at Victory Mission's WorkReady Center on Chase Street. Then on Friday, those who've stuck with the program have a small graduation ceremony and receive a certificate.

If they want, they can wear a cap and gown — a pretty big deal for a lot of the men.

One recent graduate who was in his 50s was especially proud to experience the pomp and circumstance.

"He said, 'Look, my family said I'd never amount to anything. ... I have a cap and gown and I have a certificate of graduation. I've never had that,'" Pace recalled the man's words. "And he's working now and loving it."

The businesses and companies that are partnering with Victory Mission either send representatives to the center to conduct interviews or they'll take the men's resumes and arrange a time later to interview.

"Now they are getting a chance to at least have an interview, at least have a chance for a job," Huett said.

When a graduate gets a job, their stay at the shelter can be extended from the usual 30 days to 60 days. That gives them more time to save up some money for a deposit on their own place, Huett explained.

If transportation to their new job is an issue, Victory Mission will get them bus passes while they are staying at the shelter.

Sometimes it's the employer who will help the man with transportation. Malone said SRC is willing to schedule a shift around the bus line schedule for BootCamp graduates.

Pace shared a story about a man who was hired by HydroClean, a business that cleans restaurant hoods. Pace said the owner of the business personally picked the man up for a week or two just to make sure the new employee was trained.

Another graduate named Byron came up with his own mode of transportation from the shelter to his new job at Clearview Window Cleaner.

"It was funny. I told him it's 11 minutes by bike from the shelter down to Clearview. And he said, 'It's seven minutes on my skateboard,'" Pace said, laughing. "He was so fired up to get that job."

For those who are still living at the shelter, they are given sack lunches to take with them to work.

"It's just a simple bag of chips and a sandwich," Spoon said. "But when you have nothing, that means everything."

Confidence booster

The confidence boost the men get from the BootCamp — not just from things like resume preparation and practice interviews — but from the haircut and new clothes is huge.

"They now feel like they are equipped to go and do an interview," Pace said. "They are like a different person, and that adds to their self-confidence because they've been beaten down so long."

Huett agreed.

"You can see it in their faces," Huett said. "They are proud of the way they look. Their hair is cut. They took a bath. They've shaved. They got new clothes. They got a new pair of shoes. They look like someone I would want to hire instead of just another person coming off the streets."

Of course, not everyone works out. A few guys dropped out of the BootCamp before graduation. One guy landed a really good job and then just disappeared, Pace said. They still aren't sure where the man went.

Victory Mission Chaplain David Huett helps teach a class about conflict resolution in the workplace during Victory Mission’s WorkReady BootCamp, which is designed to help homeless men prepare to enter the workplace, on Thursday, July 29, 2021. Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader

"There's always going to be those who think they are ready, and they are just not quite ready," Pace said. "I know we are meeting a need for the employers because they need people. But I think they must realize that you are still dealing with a population who are learning to improve themselves. You are investing in them."

But for the most part, the men who graduate the program are excited about being given a second chance.

"The men who come through this have been without so long that they cherish the opportunity to work," Pace said.

The program is proving so popular with the men and the participating companies, Pace and Huett expect it will be expanded soon to include the ladies in Victory Mission's Single Moms Rock program, as well as other churches and organizations.

As of this week, there are 12 Springfield businesses that are partnering with Victory Mission to interview and possibly hire the graduates. So far, there have been a total of 26 graduates. Of those, at least 18 are now employed and their average starting pay is $14 an hour, Pace said. 

Men are not required to stay in contact with Victory Mission after they leave the program, but so far about 70 percent of them have stayed connected.

"That is great because the accountability and encouragement and the community really helps them succeed," Pace said. 

Thanks to his paycheck from SRC, Spoon was able to leave the shelter. He now shares an apartment with his girlfriend in Ozark.

He wanted to say a special thank you to Lathan Wallace, the husband of one of his BootCamp instructors. Wallace picked Spoon up at the shelter every morning when Spoon was first hired. 

"(Wallace) helped paved the way," Spoon said. "Him picking me up every morning at 5:30 a.m. and taking me to work is pretty impressive. This guy didn’t know me from a total stranger."

Want to help?

To learn more about how to help Victory Mission, either through monetary donations or volunteer opportunities, visit victorymission.com.

The WorkReady BootCamp program is always in need of interview clothes, work clothes and new or gently-used shoes for the men. In particular, they need steel-toed boots for men who get manufacturing jobs and rubber-soled shoes for those who wind up doing restaurant or retail work. The program also needs black or dark work pants for men.