For more than three years, Kevin Hall searched for an opportunity to break out of the cycle of working odd jobs and barely getting by. He looked for workforce training in many places but found program after program had to turn him away because he didn’t fit their admission criteria. He was never incarcerated and didn’t suffer from the disease of addiction, so he said organizations repeatedly told him they weren’t able to help.
Mr. Hall finally heard about the Center for Urban Families when his wife, Shannell, told a coworker how much he was struggling to find a job. It was 2014, and Mr. Hall, then in his 30s, was a father of four. He’d earned a GED, but even that didn’t help to get him unstuck.
“I was skeptical whether or not it would pan out, because I was trying so hard but nothing was working,” Mr. Hall said.
CFUF encouraged him to participate, and he immediately enrolled in Project Jumpstart to learn the basics of the building trades in plumbing, electric, and carpentry. CFUF helped him refresh his math skills, gave him his first suit, and lined him up with job interviews.
“I had a job before I graduated from the program at the op of my class.”
“I had a job before I graduated from the program at the top of my class,” said Mr. Hall, who was hired by Mechanical Engineering & Construction Corporation (MEC²), where he has worked ever since.
He is a sheet metal mechanic and one of a couple dozen other CFUF graduates who have joined the MEC² payroll over the years. The mechanical design and construction firm works on hospitals, schools, offices, and industrial complexes throughout the Mid-Atlantic.
One of Mr. Hall’s coworkers is Derek Liggins, a CFUF member and HVAC foreman for MEC2 who runs multimillion dollar projects. Mr. Liggins joined CFUF in 2008 and has become a mentor to many over the years. He is now co-chair of the CFUF alumni association.
“Derek took me under his wing, and we’ve been real close,” Mr. Hall said. “He’s been a big brother. He showed me a lot and tried to keep me on the straight and narrow.”
The relationships Mr. Hall said he built at CFUF matter as much to his success as the lessons he learned there.
“CFUF is not only a workforce development program, they offer so much more,” Mr. Hall said. “They generally invest in your future. You are forever a member. If you need help or resources, they are always there for you.”
Over the last decade, Mr. Hall said he and his wife bought a home in Northeast Baltimore off Perring Parkway. Mr. Hall said his salary at MEC2 helps him to provide a good life for his family, including his two sons, daughter, and grandchild; his middle son passed away about three years ago.
“I want more people to know: CFUF can actually get you the help that you need,” Mr. Hall said. “They will never give up on you and push you to be successful. They want nothing more than to see you prosper.”
“Because they believed I could get a position like that, I couldn’t take no for an answer,” Ms. McNair said.
She landed the job in August.
As a career coach, she combines her passion for working with young people and draws on her own experience working in various jobs, including cosmetology, office administration, and project management. Ms. McNair said she lends advice and support to the students so they stay on track to work in the trades, attend college, join the military, or become entrepreneurs.
CFUF has put her on a path, not only for career success and economic stability, Ms. McNair said, but toward her true purpose and fulfillment.
Since graduating from STRIVE®, she’s been back to North Monroe Street to speak to new members, participate in ongoing training and enrichment activities, and join the growing advocacy efforts of the organization to push for policy changes to create more equitable conditions for all Baltimore families.
“It is like a family and feels like home,” Ms. McNair said.