EMERGE Case Study
Through a partnership with Pollen Midwest, we created a case study to learn how EMERGE Community Development works to facilitate life changes for individuals facing significant obstacles.
EXCERPT FROM THE CASE STUDY
EMERGE Community Development is a “one-stop” hub for an array of services that help create economic opportunity and vitality in the north Minneapolis and Cedar Riverside communities. Each year, EMERGE helps connect more than 2,500 people to housing, employment training, job placement and other in-demand social services.
COLLABORATION
The EMERGE Career and Technology Center (ECTC) redefines the way community-based organizations, post-secondary institutions and public institutions come together to provide a centralized source of training for EMERGE participants. The ECTC has attracted two major onsite partners, Hennepin Technical College and Minnesota Computers for Schools, as well as several other partners that provide training.
CONTINUING THROUGH SETBACKS
To prepare clients for work, EMERGE launched HIRE GROUND, a work readiness training program that blends traditional job search topics with self-exploration. When EMERGE started the 10-day program in 2015, it stuck to a strict Monday- to-Friday schedule. However, after a year, the organization found it wasn’t bringing in the number of people it hoped to reach. In 2016, EMERGE transitioned to a rolling cohort model.