By Danielle Crawford, Vice President, Grantmaking
For low – income workers, barriers faced everyday just to get to work can be overwhelming. From arranging childcare to being healthy (or having access to needed healthcare) to having reliable transportation to and from work, to addressing potential legal barriers to working, the obstacles can feel (and be) vast. But there are employers like EDWINS who help mitigate barriers workers face as well as shift their own employer practices that lead to good jobs. Add policy changes that address systemic barriers and these all together encompass the tenants of the Social Determinants of Work.
Social determinants of work is a phrase coined by Dr. Angela Jackson, with the express purpose of making more visible all the challenges – individual, programmatic and systemic – which impact the ability of individuals to be successful at work. The United Way of Greater Cleveland and Towards Employment worked together to build upon Dr. Jackson’s work and developed these eight different determinants:
I had the opportunity to interview Seth Fields, a former EDWINS Restaurant and Leadership Institute student and current Manager-in-Training at EDWINS Bakery & Training Center on Buckeye Road. I spoke with Mr. Fields about his former incarceration, how that has shaped him and what he wants to take away from this for himself. While he may not use the phrase “social determinants of work”, once I explained what they are, he quickly understood how many of the social determinants of work had played a role in keeping him from being successful. He struggled with enrolling in public benefits; access to his Medicare health benefits; access to the internet and to reliable transportation options, among other challenges.
Mr. Fields was released in 2022 from prison, after serving 23 years. Since that time, he has worked hard to put his life back on track, with work being a very important part of enabling him to become financially independent.
Mr. Fields recognized the benefits to completing his parole enrolling at the Restaurant and Leadership program at EDWINS. He maintains that having a supportive employer in EDWINS — one with explicit strategies and programs to help him address these determinants — helped him. Since enrolling with the EDWINS program and working at EDWINS Restaurant and Leadership Institute,
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- He has enrolled in SNAP (food) benefits and now has access to Medicare;
- He has received a Broadband access discount; and
- He has identified public transportation routes, but sometimes also has access to a car.
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EDWINS also helped him to secure critical identification such as a birth certificate, social security card, and a license all at no cost to him.
If we want to enable more individuals to work, and we want employers to fill more of their open jobs, the opportunity is to address the social determinants of work as a community. While some individual employers are addressing these barriers, I believe it is time for a movement that will help us shape and assist the next generation of workers.
If you are an employer who wants to learn more about helping employees mitigate barriers to work (as well as policy and advocacy opportunities in the workforce development space), join United Way of Greater Cleveland for the Social Determinants of Work Symposium on March 28, 2023. Register here. If you are interested in learning more about EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute, click here.