I spent this past weekend in downtown Chicago. Like many large cities, I was frequently approached by people who appeared to be homeless. They’d ask me for a dollar, a cigarette, or to let them shine my shoes.
It was the shoe shine guy that stood out the most. He was well spoken and had a great 30-second elevator pitch. He almost had me. If I didn’t have canvas shoes on I probably would have let him give it a try.
I told him I’d buy him lunch if he would just talk to me for a few minutes.
I asked him where he lives and he pointed over to a concrete bench across the street from the Congress Hotel. I said, “You live over there, like that’s your bed?”
He shook his head to say yes.
I asked him if that’s where he chooses to live or if he thinks he will have a roof over his head anytime soon. He said he used to have an apartment but he had a drinking problem and couldn’t hold down employment.
I asked him if he still had a drinking problem and he said now that he doesn’t have a job his drinking isn’t a problem.
I replied, “But not having a job means you have to sleep on a concrete bench.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
I said, “You seem like a smart guy, why don’t you go into a staffing agency and see if they’ll help you out? You’re certainly a decent salesperson.”
He laughed and said that they would never talk to him — that they would simply kick him out because of his body odor. I let him know that the hotel I was staying in had public restrooms that he could use to wash up. It’s not classy, but you do what you have to do.
Then he said that they wouldn’t talk to him because he hasn’t had a job in a couple years. I told him that some staffing firms — especially day labor facilities — don’t always care where he lives or what his past is as long as he shows that now he can be a good worker every day.
He said, “Yeah, maybe. I guess I could give it a try.”
Then he said something that made me feel a little sad. He said that on some days he can make between $50-100 per day panhandling. Compare that to $10/hr for hard labor and you can see how panhandling could be considered by some to be a preferred career. And it’s tax free, he said.
Then I gave him $20 and thanked him for his time. He was very happy — but I will never know what actually happened to that $20.
Many years ago I was between jobs, on the verge of eviction. I walked into a staffing company for the first time in my life. I told the staffing specialist that I would take anything. I just needed any job I could get to stay in my apartment.
She had me working within two days, literally rescuing me from potential homelessness. This is one of the main reasons why I believe so strongly in the staffing industry today.
But this conversation had me really thinking. What is your staffing firm’s policy on hiring homeless people? Have you ever hired a homeless person? Did it work out? Did you regret it? How did it all eventually end up?
Please leave your story in the comments below.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I used to be a recruiter at a very large staffing company and we would have never been allowed to hire a homeless person. When we went through our training process we were always told that we needed to make sure the person we submitted to our boss ( sales manager) for the position was stable. Meaning, they had to have reliable transportation and decent work history ( no gaps, anything over 3 months was frowned upon). We were told that we had to ” talk people out a job” to see how bad they really wanted it. Very sad, but true. There is NO WAY a sales manager would have sent a homeless man to one of their clients, and I was working in the commercial divison of this staffing company.
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I work for a large temporary staffing company that specializes in General Labor and it makes me proud to know that we help people just like the gentleman in this article everyday. It is important to value people based on who they are and just not on their circumstances.
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I am the president of a newly funded charitable 501(c)(3) foundation. We are interested in helping people living in shelters or “graduates” from shelters find employment. How can we find employers willing to give someone a chance ? We would be willing to provide a stipend to supplement wages during the on the job training process or probationary period so that the employer is not bearing a financial burden while letting someone prove that they can do the job. We are located near Albany New York. Any suggestions ?
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My office receives people from all walks of life, I never turn anyone away. There are jobs out there for every person if you know where to look. The problem is that most people dont know where to look and the ones that are supposed to help them find jobs dont bother looking at them. At Reliance we have people who do all types of jobs. People who unfold cardboard boxes, people who wait tables, wash dishes, paint curbs, admin., customer service reps, paralegals,CEOs, CFOs, and most everything in between. A candidate may not get the permanent full time job, but any job is better than no job. We do our best to make sure that each person gets the opportunity to apply and have an interview. You never know… when you have helped someone to get a job, they could end up being your next client.
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I would love to say that I work for a staffing company that would employ someone who is homeless but I can’t. I interview for specific jobs and the company wants to hire stable applicants, like Laura states in the comment above. I am told to ask if they have reliable transportation and instructed to inform those applying that we offer NO – zero – jobs on the bus line. I am told to say this but I know from personal experience that you can ride a bus and take your bike along to get to work the rest of the way. Where there is a will to work, there will be a way. These people never get the chance to find their way. They don’t make it past the first screening, let alone get an actual interview for any real job. There are placed in the system and long forgotten. I can’t even imagine the fit my manager would have if I gave a homeless person an opportunity at one of the many factories we work with. I could loose my job, especially if the homeless person didn’t work out. I’m not proud of where I work but it is a job. I love my job. I really feel like I am helping people find work, just a limited scope of people who fall into a certain marketable criteria. I know the other recruiters in the office simply snub these applicants or turn them away. I have actually connected with a career counselor at the local assistance office. I refer those types of people to the gov’t workforce program. At least that is something I can do.
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I have many times. Our Agency works closely with the Salvation Army and we have created a program to help hire people from the Salvation Army. They are on a tight leash however, with a 1-Strike and you’re out policy. But if the monitor’s at the shelter feel that they’ve shown progress and they are ready to hold down a job, we put them into our program which requires them to work towards acquiring a permanent residence, a valid driver’s license, and their own means of transportation (a vehicle). Sometimes they don’t last too long, other times we are able to find them permanent work and we are able to be a blessing and they return the favor by showing up on time and working hard.
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I am proud to say that at Labor Finders, since 1975, we have been putting thousands of qualified people to work every day. Being qualified means that they are ready, willing and able to get the job required done. That’s all that really matters, isn’t it? And, we do that because we care about both our clients and our workforce.
We have associates that have been known to ride their bikes two miles every day to get to one of our offices, not have an assignment that day, but keep on coming back daily until they do. Then, ride as far as 10 miles to get to their assignment. And be commended for the hard day of work they put in. Many good people sometimes have bad things happen. If a person wants to turn their life around, how can they if nobody will give them an opportunity?
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Nice article, Paul. It’s true many staffing companies wouldn’t put a homeless person to work – but it’s the companies that would that stand out from the crowd and really care about people, not just the $.
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I have worked with 3 different staffing agencies in Washington. I have hired individuals that were homeless but that is something that I have always done with caution. Generally speaking, from experience, most homeless individuals do not have the means to be reliable employees. While it greatly depends on circumstances, most homeless candidates did not have cell phones or a consistent direct contact number, most did not have reliable transportation and I find that it is hard to expect an individually to be able to commit to being at work on time if they do not know where they will lay their head.
With 2 of the 3 staffing agencies that I have worked at, I created or aided with implementing programs designed to help individuals obtain the necessary resources that would allow them to be productive reliable employees. This included connecting them with resources for housing, clothing, bus tickets and/or gas cards, food and other general household items.
In my experience, it is necessary to address the needs of the individuals that prohibit them from finding gainful employment before trying to address the issue of lack of employment; anything else would be setting up the individual and my organization for failure.
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Thanks for sharing your experiences, Maisha!
One of my first recruiting jobs was with a light industrial staffing firm. I learned pretty quickly I wouldn’t be able to place anyone without a vehicle, not just the homeless, because bus schedules didn’t match the work schedules at the largest industrial park in the area where most of our clients were located. With start times of 6-6:30am for first shift, and the first bus drop off time of 7am, and end times of 10:30-11pm for second shift and the last pickup at 10pm, it was virtually impossible for anyone without a car to take these jobs. Municipalities running/scheduling bus routes could do a far better job of serving the populations that really need their services.
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I have worked for Staffing Companies that had the ‘Reliable Transportation and Contact Information’ before and did as Maisha did… developed a list of resources for the candidate to use to start getting back on track.
In the companies that didn’t have policies, I have always gone with my gut after screening. There have been times where the answers were similar to the gentleman you spoke to Paul, and I passed. Simply not that serous about it.
There have been other times when I’ve gone out of my way to arrange positions, even if short term, so that they could put together enough money to buy more appropriate clothes, a bus pass (rather than hoping they had the $1 cash each day for the fare), and then got them started at a long term or even temp to hire position.
There have been times when it has backfired… angry clients, No Show/No Call or even an unexpected end of assignment which had me standing in the parking lot of the client at 5 AM to catch them before they went in (hard to do an assignment end call to a shelter or message phone!). There have also been times when they did succeed, got into a residence or other stability and then left with no notice because they found something better.
The reason I’ve stayed willing to do it, on a case by case basis, is because there have also been times when it worked out great for the candidate and client. I love the industry for the thrill of the sale, the satisfaction of the good hire and the knowledge that on occasion, we can change lives while providing a quality service.
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I think it depends on the situation as to whether you should hire a homeless person. Just a couple of years ago, when the economy first worsened, I know folks with excellent work history who literally lost all their jobs and homes — all in the same swipe! If you can determine the person has a phone, transportation, and *someplace* to lay their heads at night (even if in their car), by all means, give these folks a chance!!! Homelessness alone should not prevent a person from getting work. If they have other issues (sadly the ones people generally *assume* they have such as alcoholism, drug use…) that would prevent them from getting to work, being on time, doing the job, etc. then it’s a bad idea. Sorry if this is repeat, but just wanted to weigh in on this very important matter.
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In high school for a sociology project, my brother (now a pro filmmaker) went to Chicago to make a “documentary” on their homeless population. Fearless and convinced this would be fruitful, he filled a garbage bag with packs of cheap cigarettes and offered them to homeless people in exchange for telling their story.
What resulted was not only some sad and novel anecdotes, but he also wound up classifying the different types of panhandlers (preachers, mumblers, tour guides, buskers/entertainers, etc.). It was as if each was a separate business model in a very sad “industry,” but one that I certainly believe can yield more than a temp job.
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Does your brother have this footage available to the public anywhere? I would love to see it!
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Thanks for the article. I recently stopped and chatted with someone panhandling on the street, holding a “Want to Work: Need Job” sign. I informed him that I would provide him direction and gave him my phone number. I provided him my contact information and he didn’t follow up.
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