Financial Opportunity Center Programs Create a Safety Net for Re-entry Clients

Providence, April 20, 2022 — One of the first things that Parris Wise does with any new cohort of students eager to learn the construction trades is to take them for a tour of a few local job sites to give them a sense of the possibilities ahead. The tour winds through the interior streets of Providence, highlighting architectural designs and reviewing renovation plans for residential and homeowner construction. The tour always finishes with a high-end, union-only, high-rise building in downtown Providence. 

“’This is where the big boys work.’” 

Tommy Ngo remembers hearing Parris say this as they pulled up to the six-story, luxury apartment complex under construction in Providence’s burgeoning Jewelry District.  Large cement panels were being hoisted into place; and a well-disciplined crew maintained strict focus on their coordinated tasks. The building is high-end, modern and state-of-the art. 

Chestnut Commons is a state-of-the-art, luxury apartment complex under construction in downtown Providence.

“Parris brought us to the job site. I thought construction was all the same, but this was a real eye-opener. It was beautiful," said Ngo. "Parris showed us what was possible.”

Tommy Ngo was enrolled in a Bridges to Career Opportunities (Bridges) program to learn construction trades at Amos House, a non-profit social services provider in Providence, Rhode Island. LISC’s program offers job training, education, and financial capability training to help chronically unemployed and underemployed adults. The Citi Foundation, a major supporter of the Bridges program nationwide, committed $10 million to LISC to help 40 partners in 19 cities over the past three years. Providence was one of the cities to receive funding. 

Amos House is one of only two social services agencies that offer the Financial Opportunities Center model in Rhode Island.

Bridges workforce development programs are delivered across the country through a network of Financial Opportunity Centers (FOC), service providers that offer career and personal finance coaching for low- to moderate-income people. These centers provide an integrated delivery of employment services, financial coaching, and help for clients trying to access income supports. In Rhode Island, both Amos House and Genesis Center deliver the LISC model of Financial Opportunity Center programming, in addition to their existing portfolio of services. The workforce development programs offered through the FOC are free for participants.

Parris Wise has taught construction trades for the past dozen years, the last six at Amos House. “I love seeing people come through the program like Tommy,” said Wise. “He was very enthusiastic about doing this work. He’s got a great personality – very outgoing – and he’s very smart. I’m really very proud of his progress. But frankly, it isn’t surprising, he was one determined kid.”

Parris Wise has been an instructor at Amos House for the past six years.

The programs available through Amos House include Construction Trades, Culinary Arts, Digital Literacy, Call Center and Customer Service, and Commercial Driver’s Training, in addition to the services offered through the FOC. Each year, hundreds of students are trained and helped to find living-wage jobs. The Carpentry and Maintenance program is usually full and the demand for trained carpenters is high.

“There’s a big shortage of trades,” says Wise. “They cancelled shop classes in the 80s and 90s and depleted the pipeline of workers. Now there’s a big scramble to get trained people into the fields. It’s opened up the profession for minorities and women. They’re getting good, living-wage jobs.”

With the influx of new funding flowing into communities through the American Rescue Plan Act, and increased focus on the housing crisis in Rhode Island, the demand for all levels of construction tradespeople has never been higher.

“Construction employment and spending on projects has finally topped pre-pandemic levels, but finding skilled workers is an ongoing challenge,” said Kerrie Bennet, Executive Director of The Rhode Island Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America.  “We are always trying to encourage young people to pursue high-paying careers in construction – a job that provides exceptional training, benefits, and opportunities for growth.”

Training is a prerequisite for any job in construction now, according to Wise. “You can’t just go down to a job site and apply any more. You have to have skills just to get into the conversation. They don’t want green people. And, if you want to be in the union — which provides additional security and a career path — that’s another hurdle.” 

Tommy said he hadn't picked up a hammer before the training.

Tommy Ngo was no stranger to difficult circumstances. As a teenager, he was swept up into what he refers to as the “gang life.” He was convicted and sentenced to prison in Rhode Island. “I got 10 years,” he said, “which was a life sentence to me. When I was growing up, I really didn’t think I would live that long anyway.” 

While in the ACI, Tommy participated in Youth Offender programs, which included a dedicated counselor who worked with him for the duration of his sentence.  “I’m the kid that was always told: you’re not going to make it. Teachers gave up on me. The parole board gave up on me — I was denied five times before I made parole,” said Ngo. “Doing this program at Amos House was part of my re-entry plan.”

Tommy's program included Digital Capability classes.

Ngo had a lot of lost ground to recover. “I didn’t even know how to use an IPhone when I got out,” he said. Ngo worked to improve his digital capability and to understand basics like email, text messaging, and research on the internet; and worked with a financial coach at Amos House to improve his financial capability to help him get on the right track financially. 

“Tommy was very eager to learn,” said Stephanie Jones-Pringle, financial coach with the Financial Opportunity Center at Amos House. “We worked with him to build a strong financial foundation to put him in a position to make smart choices when it came to his money. For many clients, setting them on the right financial path is an important tool to help them make good life choices and to be successful members of the community. In Tommy’s case, we were starting from square one. We had to start by getting him a Social Security card.” 

Without a basic understanding of banking and credit, clients run the risk of being scammed or losing money. Many unbanked clients depend on payday lenders, which may charge exorbitant rates to borrowers. Good credit scores are vital if clients want to purchase a car or even rent an apartment. The better the credit score, the lower the interest rate a borrower is charged. 

Stephanie Pringle-Jones, Financial Coach, worked with Tommy to get him started. His long term goal is homeownership.

“I didn’t just have no credit score, I wasn’t even in the system,” said Ngo. “I didn’t even have a bank account. Miss Stephanie helped me get set up and showed me how to make it all work. Now my credit score is like 740.”

Financial capability instruction is woven into nearly everything taught at Amos House. Financial Coaches teach classes and offer one-on-one assistance and mentoring. Contextualized learning conducted in the Bridges training modules provide foundational skills in math, reading and writing needed to be successful in training. Citizens Bank has provided support for Digital Literacy training at Amos House for the past two years. 

“I touched up my math and reading skills, and I worked with the counselors at Amos House to write a resume and to practice interviewing. They taught me how to get onto a computer and search for jobs. They helped me to get a bank account and a credit card. They helped me get my social security number and birth certificate,” said Ngo. “After doing 7 years and trying to get your life in order – it was a huge challenge.” 

Ngo found a job working for a hotel doing maintenance. After less than a year, he was asked to add to his responsibilities and look after another hotel in their chain, as well as an apartment complex down the street. He was promoted to chief engineer and is responsible for interviewing new hires and negotiating with contractors when the job is too big for him to handle.

“When you’re young and growing up, the streets are always there. You think they love you – and you’re looking for that love – but it’s the wrong crowd and that love got me in trouble,” he said. “It was the wrong kind of love.”

Ngo reunited with his mother and moved in with his sister while he works at the hotel complex. Tommy’s mother knew that he was in with the wrong crowd and was devastated when he got into trouble. Now Ngo spends all his free time with his family. “My mother was disappointed in me and I didn’t ever want to see that again,” he said. “Now seeing how happy she is about the change – that’s what keeps me going.”

Tommy finished the residential carpentry program at Amos House, but the allure of big commercial jobs was still enticing. He applied to the Building Futures pre-apprenticeship training program to learn commercial carpentry and apply for his union card. 

“The people at Amos House were all willing to help, they were very accepting and kind. They were always willing to look for solutions,” said Ngo. “They helped me do what I needed to do to get into Building Futures.”

Tommy Ngo finished the Residential Construction training program at Amos House and went on to learn Commercial Construction at Building Futures.

After completing the program, there were several tests Tommy had to complete in order to be accepted into the union. There were 112 applicants, and only 12 were chosen to go through. Tommy was one of the 12.

“To get into the union means that all this hard work has paid off. It gives me more stability, and I know what I can expect in my future. It feels amazing to have that plan put in place. I’m kind of sad to leave the hotel, but I’m going to have a better future. Everyone is happy for me.” said Tommy. “I doubted myself, but everyone else was sure that one day I would make it.”

For now, Tommy is working both jobs so that he can give a proper 2-week notice to the hotel and help to train his replacement. “This company took care of me. They gave me a chance when nobody did and I don’t want to leave them in the lurch. We’ll have to find someone good to replace me.”

For his union job, Tommy is working on the finish carpentry at that same high-end, luxury apartment complex in downtown Providence where Parris first stopped on his tour. 

“I still can’t believe it’s true,” said Tommy. “The section I’m working on is up over the corner where we stopped. I look out at that little corner where I first looked in. Now I’m up here looking out.”

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