Community Building Inc.

Testimonial sent to Dee DePass

Dear Dee DePass:

I just want to write to you and thank you for your story regarding the web site for unemployed people by an unemployed person. I just wanted to tell you another story about this web site and how it has helped people. My name is Kim Ritter and I have been unemployed for the last 4 months. Approximately 3 weeks ago someone forward me and e-mail with this web site location on it and told me to look at it to see if it would help me with services that I might need. I spent several hours looking at the web site. I was looking for services for myself and for my boyfriends parents. My boyfriends parents are in subsidized housing, and the father is just getting over treatments for bladder cancer. His mother has lupus
and has survived breast cancer and osteoporosis. She uses a walker to get around. They badly needed a car to go to doctors appointments because their car was 20 years old and had over 250,000 miles on it and it was an American car and they had no money to buy a car. When searching through this list I found a program that donates cars to needy families so they can get to work. I called the program up and told them the story of my boyfriends parents and would they make an exception to the program for these seniors.
With a few minor hoops my boyfriends parents had to go through.....the program made an exception for them and they are now on the waiting list for a donated car. I cannot tell you how happy they are and grateful I am to Peggy Byrne for this web site. It looks like they may get a car sometime around January 2010. What a great new years gift! We would have never found this program if it hadn't been for this web site!!!!!

Please forward my e-mail on to Peggy Byrne so she knows her work is greatly appreciated by many unemployed and needy people. Thank you for your article....I was really happy to read it.

Best Regards,
Kim Ritter
13922 Franchise Ave.
Apple Valley, MN 55124
952/997-3525

COMMENTS:

At first glance, this looks like the best site I have been on. Many different resources and easy to access.

Your story is featured today on oddtodd.com...daily stuff...daily good news...economy edition!

Ruth Alan

saw the article in the paper! I’m unemployed also! good luck with the site! I’m just starting 2 explore it!

I am 58 years old and have been unemployed since 4/30. Since my regular employment experience has not been to go out and find another job the resources that you have provided are very valuable. A few additional job sites that I have been scouring are linkedin.com and mfrall.com. Thank you again for your efforts.

Pat

I read about your website and just wanted to tell you that I think your website is a wonderful resource. Thank you so much for putting it together! Good luck to you and to all of us who are searching for a job.
Cheerio, Su

I read the article about this website in the Sunday paper today..Unbelievable. THANK YOU The wealth of information is great.
Keep up the great work

Thank you for helping the unemployed with all the resources you have included on this website.

I read about this site in Saturday's Star Tribune. WOW! Great!
I found lots of good information.
Thank you for putting this together.

I would like to take a moment to say THANKS for providing such a valuable service out of the kindness of your heart. I am one of the lucky ones in that I have a good job although I had to go to Alabama to get it and commute home to the St.Cloud area once amonth. I hope that the write up in the Star Tribune brings you the rewards you deserve. Again, thanks for helping out Minnesotans from a fellow Minnesotan.
Cool. Just saw the article online...followed link to your site and poked around...liked what I saw and sent you a few resources I knew about that I did not see. I'm sure you will be busy after the exposure. Hope it leads to something for you!

Ms. Byrne,

I read about your work on the Star Tribune's website. I am so thankful someone has put together such a comprehensive website for the unemployed and those less fortunate.

I wish you all the best in your own job search, and I hope something comes up for you soon!
Anna
Hi,

This is a fabulous site, and I have not explored all of it yet. Thanks!!

A bargain tip is Savers, a used items store. They have home furnishings, housewares, electronics, books and movies, but mostly clothes. Variety and sizes are great. Tuesdays is senior day, 55+, you get an additional 40% discount. I just bought 7 tops, 2 pairs of jeans and a wool winter jacket for about $45 (good labels, two tops are silk). This is better than Goodwill for clothes.

Thank you for putting together this site. I was laid off in 1/09 and found permanent full-time employment in 9/09. I wish there had been a "mster site" like this when I needed it. I spent hours on my computer and have saved a lot of favorite websites during my job search. For a temporary position I was employed by www.accountemps.com and I also keep searching on www.usajobs.gov for Federal government jobs. Thanks for helping those still looking form employment.

I was surprised not to find the school lunch program mentioned on your site.

Absent a lot of other income, a family of four at the maximum weekly unemployment benefit still qualifies for free or reduced lunches. Free breakfasts often come with this.

The school lunch program is an important gatekeeper to qualify for other school-related benefits such as reduced or waived school fees, field trip costs, athletic fees, etc.

In some cities, it also qualifies the whole family for greatly reduced participant rates for Park and Recreation programs or entrance fees.

Lastly, if one child is on the school lunch program in K-12, it affects an older child's college financial aid application. The FAFSA asks about it. I don't know the ramifications, but a college financial aid office seeing that box checked might be more generous.

Our church works with Families Moving Forward (www.familiesmovingforward.org) to provide temporary shelter for homeless adults with children.

How about www.twincitieshelpwanted.com ?

Hi. I'm a third-year law student at William Mitchell College of Law. I read about your website on the Star Tribune, and I am very impressed with this website. I wanted to give you some additional legal resources that are designed to help the low-income population.

Criminal Defense:
The Neighborhood Justice Center: http://www.njcinc.org/ - St. Paul and East Metro area The Legal Rights Center: http://www.legalrightscenter.org/ - Hennepin County Both of these organizations can help with expunging criminal records, which may be preventing people who have been law-abiding for several years from getting employment.

Pro Se Resouces:
I believe both Hennepin County and Ramsey County have pro se services (for people who are representing themselves in a court proceeding). Additionally, William Mitchell just opened a pro se clinic that will assist clients with divorce, child support modification (important if a parent's income has dropped dramatically), and criminal expungements. The last day for this year is Nov. 21, but it will hopefully open on a fuller schedule in 2010. More information is available at: http://www.wmitchell.edu/news/articles/default.asp?articleId=11991.

I hope this is helpful. Please contact me if you need any additional information. I have worked both with the Neighborhood Justice Center and the William Mitchell Clinic.

Sincerely,

Ellen Ahrens

I do not see anything concerning where I could go to obtain private health insurance on your site. I think this would be very helpful to people who are without insurance from their employer or are in between jobs. It should be insurance that is available to everyone in Minnesota. I've gone to the AARP site but they offer nothing in MN. I know you can apply to BlueCross/Shield but what about other options?

Women Venture does not have a job search support group in St. Louis Park. Women in Transition does have a job search support group for women held at the Lenox Community Center in St. Louis Park held on Wednesday afternoons from 1-4pm preregistration is required. Please make this correction and thank you for your website!

Hi!
Great website--my cousin emailed me the star trib article and I decided to check it out.
I was wondering if you could add walk-in counseling center (www.walkin.org) to your list of mental health resources. It is a great organization and I have volunteered there as a counselor since 2006. They provide counseling services free of charge to anybody--whether it be a one time thing or ongoing services or referrals that are needed. It is a great place for people who don't have insurance but may be in need of mental health services. They are located at 24th and Chicago in Minneapolis and just celebrated their 40th anniversary. They do extraordinary work!

Saw your article in the paper this morning - congratulations! I just wanted you to know that the Dept. of Employment and Economic Development will be launching a new website in Nov 30th. Rather than information by program, it will have several topic areas, like " For Jobseekers" and recently unemployed. I wanted you to be aware of this, because all your links to any Deed.state.mn.us or MNWFC.org website content will not be valid on Nov 30th. If you would like, I could provide a list of redirected links, but you might want to work your way through our new site, as it wlill be very different than what is there now. Let me know if I can be of assistance - Laura Winge

www.icafoodshelf.org is a mtka area food shelf...not sure if you list local resources. not sure if faith based...but church supported. it is not part of hungersolutions.org which you already list. there are probably other local food shelves in the metro as well.

You've missed two good resources:

Jewish Vocational Service of Minnesota...been around quite a long time http://www.jvsmn.org/

And a brand new group:
www.mitsvajobs.com
Peggy,
Saw the article about this 'place' in the Trib this morning.
Good site! Thanks for putting it together.
Good luck in finding something soon!
Gene

I read about your website in the Strib today...you are an inspiration and an angel to the unemployed! I love the MN-centrism of this site as well as the clean design, comprehensiveness of topics of interest to a job-seeker (not just jobs) & usability.

A friend turned me onto the website www.candidateschair.com ("Job search from a Candidate's perspective"). There are some things related to support blogs, effective networking, and books & similar resourcs that might find there way to your site, too (concepts, as well as specifics).

Best wishes and good luck to you!
~Brad Pepin, job seeker in transition

FYI - I added your site to my Great Links page.

www.biwer.net/links.htm

saw the article in the star tribune about your site this morning. I'm currently employed, but have two friends who have been laid off since dec08 and mar09 and i forwarded them this link first thing this morning.

What a great idea to consolidate all the job search sited into one place!! plus give people a way to find the other resources they need as well.

There's been tons of layoffs at my company this past year, so I may start looking myself, and I've bookmarked this for future reference. Very impressed with your work!

Best wishes on your job search.

Your site is awesome!!! I read about it in the paper. Great work!

Here is an addition to your bargains section:

http://www.twincitiesfreemarket.org/

Good luck!!!

Harry

Peggy: Read today's Star Trib article on your new website. When I read your profile, we have a lot in common: laid off last spring, late 50's, track record of high profile jobs in government, etc. Thanks for putting this together. There's a lot of us out there.

Was wondering if you knew whether or not the federal subsidy of COBRA for those laid off would be extended? The stimulus bill in February allocates funds to offset 2/3rds of the COBRA premiums for 9 months, even though COBRA is good for up to 18 months. Without an extension my COBRA subsidy will end in February.

Also, any tips on how to apply for federal jobs would be appreciated. I applied for one with the B.I.A. last spring. It took all day to complete their application, and got a form letter stating I was qualified and they would let me know if I was selected to go further, but heard nothing since.

Finally, unless there is already something out there, would suggest a message board or blog that the Minnesota Unemployed could use to share info, tips., etc.

Thanks again, and keep up the good work!

I would like to take a moment to say THANKS for providing such a valuable service out of the kindness of your heart. I am one of the lucky ones in that I have a good job although I had to go to Alabama to get it and commute home to the St.Cloud area once amonth. I hope that the write up in the Star Tribune brings you the rewards you deserve. Again, thanks for helping out Minnesotans from a fellow Minnesotan.

Peggy, congrats on the wonderful article about you in today’s paper. Maybe in January I’d like to do an article about your top 20 tips for the unemployed, based on tips from your website. I would like them to be practical, actionable items, not philosophical, related to health insurance, etc. And best of luck in your job search. This is an invaluable resource you’ve created and just plain remarkable and disappointing that more of these don’t exist. You are such an inspiration. I’d like to buy you lunch when we discuss the article.
Best,
John Ewoldt
Dollars & Sense columnist
Star Tribune

A Big Hutchinson Shout Out to Peggy!!!

Great site, and good work. God bless you!!! I am sure I will use it often, and will recommend the site to others as well. Get your advertisers lined up, and ready for the traffic!

In appreciation,
David Kunze

Your goals to help others are good , having the income to help you meet those goals can only help you help others.
It is nice to now there are people like you ...............Good Luck.........

Never provided feedback before on a website. But want to tell you that this is a GREAT site, very useful.

Thanks,

Roberto M

this site is great. Pulls everything together - in a one-stop format. Keep up the good work.

We handed out about 150 flyers about minnesotaunemployed.com [at the Homeless Connect event] and verbally told about 100 people about the website and why they should use it. You should tell Peggy this. All of the people who received the information are very low income – many are homeless. They were very interested in the website.

Marcy Shapiro
Twin Cities Community Voice Mail