PV Jobs
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JEANETTE BURNS:
Mission Accomplished
orty-six-year-old laborer Jeanette Burns is much older than most workers entering the construction world. But she doesn't let her age doubt herself. “People have pointed out my age, but I don't let it discourage me,” says Burns, who recently joined the laborers union. “I made it, even when others younger than me didn't.”
While she admits that her demanding job is challenging, Burns surmises that her job is a fair tradeoff for the fulfillment she experiences. “Building things and working side by side with a team makes me feel good,” she says.
Feeling good about herself is perhaps her job's greatest benefit, given her past of struggling with a sense of self worth. Raised the youngest daughter of eight siblings, Burns grew up watching her parents strive to keep their family “above water.” As a teen, Burns ventured into the wily streets of South Central Los Angeles to escape the responsibilities within her own household. At 14, her life abruptly changed when she became pregnant, forcing her to drop out of school to raise her young daughter.
Still, Burns didn't let motherhood pry her away from the streets. She eventually became hooked on drugs, a habit that spawned for more than a decade. But when she faced a yearlong incarceration for her drug use, she was forced to rethink her life. “It was an awakening,” says Burns, who by then had three more children. “I thought about my four daughters, and I realized that I needed to get my life together.”
Following her release, she visited the West Adams Urban League WorkSource Center to find employment. When a counselor referred her to PVJOBS, she eagerly visited the job program's orientation before deciding to pass on a chance to enter the construction field. “I wasn't sure I could do it,” she confides.
After working odd jobs over the next two years, she finally regained the confidence to revisit PVJOBS. She soon enrolled in the Laborers Bootcamp, a laborers training program that she graduated from last summer. Since then, she has worked at numerous construction sites throughout Los Angeles. “It takes strength and endurance to do this job,” she says. “You have to really want it and apply yourself to make it.”
As she aims to land a long-term construction assignment, she's vowed to never again let a challenge prevent her from creating a better future. "No one should let people tell you what you can't do," she says. "If there's something out there that you want to do, you should do it."
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JOSEPH CABRAL:
Overcoming Obstacles
s a security guard for a local nonprofit, 52-year-old Joseph Cabral feels exceedingly fortunate to be working.“The hours are tough, but I'm grateful just to have a job,” he says about his new position that he landed through PVJOBS.
Cabral's gratitude is unyielding because he was released from a 27-year prison sentence less than six months ago. “In the school of hard knocks, I have learned the value of recovery and freedom,” he reveals. And for Cabral, that road to recovery has been a long and arduous one.
Born in Canada, Cabral was raised by a single mother in the Los Angeles suburb of Paramount. Although his mother worked hard to raise her three children on her own, Cabral rebelled by running with the wrong crowd, leading to his first juvenile sentence when he was just 12. As a teen, he became a heroin user, often resorting to petty crimes to support his addiction. But at 25, Cabral was put away for good when a store he heisted ended in a deadly shooting. Even though his accomplice pulled the trigger, Cabral was given a seven-to- life prison sentence for his participation in the incident.
While serving the first eight years of his sentence, Cabral didn't care much about his life. It wasn't until he was ordered to remain in“the hole” for nearly a year that he decided to ponder his existence. “I had a talk with God. All my life I had been doing the wrong things, and then I wanted to do the right things,” he says. “I had little hope of ever getting out at that point. But I had a desire, and that was a beginning.” After returning to his cell, he began a journey of restoration by getting involved is several prison programs, like a welding training course and a mentoring program.
When he was released from prison in October, Cabral headed straight to the Walden House to participate in their sober living program. Determined to reenter society as a productive citizen, Cabral was introduced to PVJOBS, which soon placed him in his current security job.
Experiencing such a huge life transition in a relatively short amount of time has not deterred Cabral from dreaming further. He hopes to one day work as a welder and volunteer as a substance abuse counselor.
Instead of dwelling on his past, Cabral says he focuses on his recovery's silver lining. “Those years were not easy…it was the hardest thing I've ever done. But through a daily conscious and persevering effort, you can overcome many seemingly insurmountable obstacles.”
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