Norwescap’s Career and Life Transitions Center (CLTC) serves women who do not meet the state’s strict definition of “displaced homemaker,” but who have lost employment due to personal crises. In 2021, with a $100,000 grant from Impact100 Garden State, CLTC was able to expand its program to help low-income women who seek more gainful employment, including single mothers and members of the underserved Hispanic community. With Norwescap’s support, women develop career opportunities, financial resilience, and life skills for a better future for themselves and their families.
CLTC has used its grant funding to develop and regularly distribute community outreach and social media materials in English and Spanish and to award educational grants so women can train for higher-paying sustainable careers including as pharmacy technicians, certified medical health record administrative assistants, and certified medical assistants. Norwescap also facilitates a weekly Career & Life Club and Empowerment program that offers a variety of topics including Path to Achieving Your BFG (Big Financial Goals), “Where Women Work,” Property Management, Make Career Connections Work for You, and Rapid Relief from Stress & Worries.
“The support, peer network, and sense of community offered through Norwescap and our CLTC has a transformative effect on nearly every woman we work with,” says Heather Thompson, Norwescap Chief Development Officer “We often hear stories of how our clients feel more positive and optimistic about their futures. They no longer feel alone or isolated in the challenges they are experiencing, and the network and relationships they build become a cornerstone for them well after they ‘graduate’ from the program.”
In 2022, Norwescap was selected by the State of New Jersey to lead a regional collaborative to combat potentially devastating Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The effect of ACEs, such as poverty, neglect, and abuse, can negatively impact a child’s life into adulthood, often with generational consequences. This state-supported initiative will address the negative social, physical, emotional and financial effects of ACEs.