Making Work Pay for Chip
For 30+ years, The Doe Fund has broken cycles of homelessness, incarceration, and addiction by providing housing, paid work, support services, and career training to thousands of New York City’s most vulnerable residents. Thanks to our partnership with Sony, more skilled trades are available to Ready, Willing & Able trainees. Learn about our newest family-sustaining career path.
From an early age, Chip understood the struggles of obtaining financial security and the hardships that came with raising a family in the city. Growing up in a single-parent household in Brooklyn wasn’t easy. Despite the challenges, his mother did all she could to uplift her son’s talents and support him on his path to a bright future.
As a kinesthetic learner, “school wasn’t cutting it” for Chip, so pursuing a trade was the next best option for him. He got into construction work in his 20’s, and for years, his life was a bastion of stability.
However, things started to crumble. Fast forward to 2020, the lack of job opportunities uprooted Chip’s life during the pandemic lockdown, and he experienced homelessness. “When the pandemic started, I lost my job. Construction work was drying up, and I knew I was going to lose my apartment, so the next best thing was to go into the shelter system. That’s where I learned about The Doe Fund.” He continued, “I knew that’s where I needed to be. It was my first and only choice. It was a blessing to be guaranteed some work once I joined.”
Once Chip joined Ready, Willing & Able, he received safe housing, paid work, and career training to help him get his life back on track. He took advantage of all the opportunities The Doe Fund had to offer to make himself more marketable, including getting his OSHA 30, safety, and fire watch certifications. He even became one of the first Ready, Willing & Able trainees to join and complete the welding program.
Chip learned about MakerSpace NYC and the welding program thanks to James Murray, a Senior Career Development & Graduate Services Instructor. When it was time for job placement, Chip explained that he doesn’t do construction work anymore because of his age, but that he has welding experience. “I explained what kind of profession I’m into, and it only took a couple of months for Mr. Murray to get back to me about a class accepting guys who want to learn, brush up on their skills, and get back into welding,” Chip recounted.
“To be a welder you need to stay on top of the new techniques. It was a blessing to find this class and for The Doe Fund to have this is definitely a leg up for trainees who are coming in,” he told us. “The class teaches you fast. We were welding on the second day. It shows you that when you join, it’s not all about the books. It’s always good to have hands-on training. When they show an object and what it actually does, it sticks to my mind better.”
His welding instructors quickly took note of his strong work ethic and commitment to improving. “Chip was a great student. He always showed up on time and was eager to learn,” Scott Behr told us. “He’ll be able to use those skills anywhere, get a job, provide for his family, and build a foundation to make the world better.”
Today, Chip is an AWS certified welder and able to support his loved ones. “I can take care of my daughter and send money to my mom. It’s good to have stable work and save money,” he said proudly.
He’s thankful for the bridge to opportunity The Doe Fund continues to provide him and looks forward to obtaining financial stability and flexibility. “Once you show all your credentials, cards, and skills, you can be working within a day, and with welding, I’ll be able to go anywhere and work,” Chip told us.
When he sees someone struggling to find work and experiencing homelessness, he tells them that Ready, Willing & Able is the opportunity for them. “If you’re struggling, you don’t have to struggle for too long, and you can start working immediately.”
Chip continued, “What I respect about The Doe Fund is that as a graduate, I can move out and on, but if God forbid I get injured in a welding site, I can always come back and seek employment and training. I respect everything that they are doing because they truly do change lives.”
