WELFARE TO WORK: PROGRAM DONATES VEHICLES

Patricia Hunt and Chanel Tucker have made the move from welfare to work, but getting to the job was hard without their own transportation.

That won't be a concern now that both women received vehicles Wednesday morning that will make their commute to work much easier. About 25 people attended the presentation.

A car and a truck were donated through St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Community Caring Council and the Private Industry Council (PIC).

Transportation and day-care costs are expensive for people moving from welfare to the working world, said Ron Swift of PIC.

If people don't understand the costs of day care for single parents, it's hard to understand why it is an issue, he said. And more than 95 percent of those on welfare are single-parent families, Swift said.

But Hunt and Tucker had demonstrated a willingness to work and a desire to hold a job, which made them ideal candidates for the new program.

Hunt paid friends and relatives $25 per week to get rides to work. "I kept on going, but it was hard. Sometimes I wanted to give up."

But Hunt knew that welfare assistance would only last so long for her and her three children, 10, 8 and 6.

"I wanted to work because you only get help for so long," she said. "I want to influence other single parents that it's time to get off welfare and look forward."

Although Hunt has a counselor at PIC to help with her transition from welfare, she got a job at ShopKo without any help.

"I've been working with this company since March, and I'm going to stay," she said. "Maybe one day I'll buy a brand-new car."

Sarah Van Horn, store manager for ShopKo, said Hunt's attitude has been a great addition to the staff. "It's really amazing that she gets to work even with her hardships."

The same can be said of Tucker. She spent two months riding taxis back and forth from her job at the Monticello House in Jackson. PIC helped with some of the transportation costs.

Getting a vehicle of her own has been a real answer to prayer. "My pastor had been praying for me to get a new car, and then they called to say the truck is yours," Tucker said. She attends Word of Faith Fellowship.

Tucker learned just last weekend how to drive a stick shift so she can drive her new truck. She's ready to drive her 7-year-old son, Jhonte, around town.

Both women credit prayer and support from their churches in getting through the rough time in the transition. "It's exciting because it's the Lord at work," Hunt said.

Denis Rigdon, a member of St. Vincent de Paul Church, says the only explanation for how the program has come together is that God is at work in Cape Girardeau.

Once the vehicles were donated, Rigdon helped get the titles transferred and necessary repairs made. Several auto shops donated the cost of repairs.

PIC helped the women pay insurance for the first six months and costs of registering the vehicles.

Rigdon is also a member of the work opportunities committee for the Caring Communities Council, so he knows that transportation is hard to find for welfare-to-work recipients.

"You can't get a good-paying job in Cape without transportation," he said. Gabe's Auto Program is helping to address that need.

Rigdon would like to see between two and three dozen vehicles donated within a year. The Community Caring Council and PIC recently received a $60,000 grant to help provide support for people making the transition from welfare to work. The grant will be used to expand the Jump Start on Jobs program and offer follow-up support, said Shirley Ramsey, executive director of the caring council.

Public service agencies aren't the only support for welfare-to-work recipients. Rigdon said that since the Catholic Church is making a push for justice in the Jubilee for 2000, Gabe's Auto Program fits right in.

"It inspires us to make life more dignified, which makes people more successful," he said.

Programs like Marillac's Moveables, Catherine's Cupboard, Vincent's Vittles and Rafael's Roofers, along with Gabe's Autos, were designed by the church to help fill needs within the community.

Marillac's Moveables provide furniture to those in need; Catherine's Cupboard benefits area food pantries; and Vincent's Vittles helps feed the hungry once a month. All the programs are intended to complement other programs in the community, Rigdon said. People are referred through agencies to the church's Christian Service hot line at 651-0336, which operates 24 hours a day.

HOW TO HELP

If you would like to donate a used vehicle, call the Private Industry Council at 334-0990, ext. 13. Donations are tax deductible.

For help from the Christian Service hot line at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, call 651-0336. Most referrals must come through a public agency.