Colorado - Meet Feliz

Workforce Challenge

Workforce Success Story Submitted By: Arapahoe/Douglas Works!

Feliz came into the program after going through a tough separation. The customer wanted to get some skills to make her more marketable to get a job so she was not dependent on the child support from her children's father. The customer was taking care of her two children and providing for them, but she just wasn’t making ends meet. She understood that she couldn’t do the work that she was used to doing because COVID-19 had caused her to lose her job.

Workforce Solution

Feliz and her Workforce Specialist came up with the game plan of getting her certified as a forklift driver and to find her a job with those new skills. Feliz was made aware that FedEx was holding a hiring event and that the forklift certification would look good if she applied for that job. Feliz was also trying to get jobs that allowed her to work from home, so she could be there to help her children. With the confidence from the accomplishment of gaining her forklift certification, Feliz began to apply for jobs in the warehouse and looked into jobs where she could work from home as well. She started to get positive reactions on her applications and was going to interview with Amazon when she was called by a temporary service with a better opportunity, which was to work from home with Arapahoe County!

Outcomes & Benefits

Feliz got the job working for Arapahoe County, earning a wage of $14.83 per hour. She can now afford to take care of her daughters. This is an example of the 2-Gen approach at Arapahoe County to work to pull the entire family out of poverty by working with the custodial party (as well as the non-custodial parties). Feliz is well on her way to success, including a six-month retention bonus, and graduating from the program!

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