What do you do when you are confronted by divorce or the death of a spouse, and you still have to figure out a way to survive on your own economically?
It’s a tough call and often difficult to figure out the next steps, especially if you may have left the workforce to be a full-time homemaker. You may never have developed workplace skills and, if you did, they may be rusty after years of tending to your household.
That’s where the Displaced Homemakers Program (DHP) at Santa Fe College steps in. The program is marking its 40th anniversary on March 12 and has been a helping hand to women in the community seeking to regain their footing as breadwinners.
The 40th anniversary reception takes place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on March 12 in Building R, Room 1 on the Northwest Campus.
The program was established by legislative decree in 1984 and, for a time, there were several individual programs around the state, but the Santa Fe initiative may be the only one that is still functioning, according to DHP Coordinator JoAnn Wilkes.
“I love my job because we are creating a safe place for somebody who is uncertain and afraid about what they are going to do next and give them a place where they can take a breath and look at what the future holds,” Wilkes said. “When you can see them make that happen and become successful, it’s an amazing feeling and wonderful to watch.
“People get a job all the time, but when you have been at home and haven’t been working and then you go out and get a job, it’s wow. It’s a good feeling, and I love that part.”
Wilkes knows firsthand what that feels like because she is a DHP graduate herself.
“I came to the program in the mid-90s when my husband died and I needed to find a job,” she said. “I had worked before we married, and then I hadn’t worked, so I needed to get a job, make a résumé and get some skills.”
Although she found a job, Wilkes, a former high school teacher, stayed in touch with the program and eventually started working with DHP as a counselor and instructor. When then-coordinator Nancy Griffin retired, Wilkes applied for her job and got the position.
The program is three weeks long and participants are coached on life skills like goal setting and assertive communication during the first week. That is followed by developing employability skills such as preparing a résumé, learning how to interview, and conducting a job search. And finally, basic computer skills classes are offered.
There are 10 programs a year and no programs are offered during the December holiday season or in March when Spring Break occurs. The classes are small, with five to 10 participants.
But it doesn’t stop there. DHP has connections with potential employers, particularly at Santa Fe, where many DHP graduates find jobs.
One of them is Sally Bina, who is about to turn 61 and went through the program in 2006 when her 20-year marriage ended. She got a job then with Santa Fe’s Office for Finance in the Payroll Department, where she is still employed.
“It helped organize me at a time when I was unorganized and stressed out,” she said. “Big life changes, going through a divorce. Your life is just turned upside down.”
Bina credits DHP for helping her find her economic bearings.
“I don’t think I would have bounced back as quickly because I was immediately focused,” she said. “The ladies helped me get focused. They had a closetful of clothes I could choose from for my interviews. I realized how much I really did need it and how it helped me to get started.”
Cindy Salvadori, 64, found help at DHP a decade later in 2017. She, too, is employed at Santa Fe College.
“The program gave me emotional support,” she said. “DHP was like a family to me. It gave me structure. It gave me a place.… They were my friends, so to speak; that’s what got me through a very difficult time. I think if I had not had the DPH to go to and that structure through those months, I probably have decided to give up.”
Salvadori is employed at Santa Fe College at the Counseling and Wellness Center.
DHP gets regular community support from the Gainesville Area Women’s Network (GAWN), where Wilkes generally introduces a DHP program participant at each monthly meeting.
“GAWN is honored to support the Displaced Homemakers Program. Our goal is to uplift women and those who support women in business, which perfectly aligns with the DHP’s work,” said GAWN President Caitlyn Adams. “At our luncheons, JoAnn brings a new guest each month to speak on their experience as a current or recent participant in the program; it’s always a heartwarming experience.”
GAWN is a nonprofit for businesswomen and anyone who supports women in business. It has been a DHP sponsor for years.
“This was a group of people, working women, who wanted to support other working women,” said Wilkes. “We became the service project for GAWN. They help us with monthly donations but also in other ways, with speakers, if they know of job openings.”