St Joseph the Worker

Specialties

St. Joseph the Worker helps individuals return to the workforce and become self-​sufficient, productive members of society.

During the first six months of ²⁰¹³⁄₂₀₁₄ fiscal year, St. Joseph the Worker has achieved the following successes:

Helped 1294 people go back to work, averaging nearly 215 every month!

$ 9.10 an hour was the starting pay rate

47% of the jobs offered benefits

More than 2448 different individuals received services ranging from one-​on-​one job search assistance, job-​readiness resources and referrals, as well as encouragement and support to pursue a self-​sufficient lifestyle

St. Joseph the Worker is committed to expanding our impact by forming collaborations with parishes, supportive housing providers and social services to help more homeless individuals than ever before find quality employment and achieve self-​sufficiency.

As a result of this initiative, St. Joseph the Worker has established satellite services throughout Maricopa County.

History

Established in 1988.

For twenty-​five years, St. Joseph the Worker (SJW) has been

helping to eliminate obstacles that many motivated homeless

and low-​income individuals face when seeking employment.

SJW is unique and fortunate in that our mission is simple and

our impact is large: we help women and men get jobs; giving

the opportunity to end their homelessness and begin healing

their lives. This is what SJW does exclusively; it is what the

agency is expert at.

SJW is dedicated more than ever to helping hundreds more

men and women in our community to find work and pull

themselves out of homelessness and poverty. SJW’s strategic

focus — a vision that we are proud to pursue and implement

as it honors our mission, is to reach more individuals through

community colloborations and with the launch of the Mobile

Success Unit.

Meet the Manager

Brent D.

Manager

Brent Downs spent the first 17 years of his professional life in the industrial service business in South Louisiana. In 2003, he devoted his time to the non-​profit sector and served as the assistant Director for Crossroads, Inc., a 54-​year-​old organization that provides transitional living and recovery programs in the Valley. In 2011, Brent became the Executive Director of St. Joseph the Worker (SJW), a 25-​year-​old valley non-​profit that provides employment services to homeless and disadvantaged individuals. During his time at SJW the organization has experienced a 300% increase in clients gaining employment through collaboration with over 20 valley agencies providing housing and social services.

Because of the growth and success fueled by SJW’s thriving outreach activities, the agency purchased and began renovating the Mobile Success Unit (MSU). The MSU is a full-​sized recreational vehicle outfitted with all the job development essentials of SJW’s main facility in order to meet