Sky’s The Limit

Sky’s the Limit

Read the story in the Boston Globe 

Before Ben Bichotte emigrated from Haiti to the United States, his work involved supporting the victims of the island’s 2010 earthquake and other crises. So when he moved to Massachusetts a few years ago, he wanted to continue helping others. Open Sky Community Services in Worcester showed him the way.

The nonprofit’s Human Services Career Support Program trains immigrants, refugees, and people of color who are interested in human services work, and guarantees graduates jobs at the organization or with its partner nonprofit, Seven Hills. The program helps participants find meaningful careers, offers strategies for success, and addresses a stubborn shortage of qualified human service workers, says program director Omolewa Fagboore.

Trainees rotate through several positions over the course of five months to help them find the work they are best suited for.

“The goal is retention,” Fagboore says. “It isn’t just to place people at a location where there is a vacancy, but to make sure there is a good fit.”

For Bichotte, that good fit came in the form of a residential counselor position with Open Sky that has him back making a living while helping his community.

“When this opportunity came up, I immediately seized it,” Bichotte says. “Because this is what I love to do.”