Main Programs:
Employment: Centreville Labor Resource Center: (CLRC)is open from 6 am until noon (summer hours), Monday to Saturday. Workers looking for a job for the day or a few days are matched with individuals wanting to hire someone with their skills. 75% of those who hire are homeowners in need of help on their property. From 2019 to 2021, a total of 6,160 jobs were arranged through the center.
Skills training: Since opening, the CLRC has offered training opportunities for workers that include techniques for painting and patching dry wall, electrical safety workshops, landscaping, carpentry (including power-saw safety) and painting concrete floors. These classes boost knowledge necessary improve, learn, and grow for better employment opportunities and financial stability.
Language classes: English conversation groups led by volunteers are offered most mornings while workers wait for jobs; these informal classes build job-related vocabulary and provide practical conversational skills in a small group (fewer than six people). These classes follow weekly themes that aim to build confidence. An evening ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) class supplements the daytime classes, using a structured format so participants can measure their progress. We also partner with great groups such as Grace Covenant Church to match members with other formal classes in the area!
Wage Theft: The Commission on Labor Justice (CCLJ) addresses the problem of wage theft both through helping individuals recover wages and by working for systemic change. The group assists individuals by sending letters and making phone calls on their behalf. They have accompanied some workers to Small Claims Court, and won judgments in their favor. In addition to assisting with individual cases, the group is working with the Interfaith Center for Public Policy and other allies around the Commonwealth to identify flaws in the system that allow wage theft to occur and introduce legislation to address them.
Women’s Empowerment Program: In 2020, CIF began an initiative called the Women’s Empowerment Project. This project came from the need to include women and families into CIF’s work. When CIF began its demographic was largely single men, now this population has evolved and many women have immigrated to the area with children and families are growing. In 2022 36% of program participants were women historically less than 15% until 2019!
Immigrant Rights Assistance:
- CIF does not have an attorney on staff, but makes referrals to reputable immigration attorneys and non-profit legal services for workers with immigration questions. We offer “Know Your Rights” sessions community members worried about ICE raids. In addition, CIF offers a “Family Reunification” program developed by the local school system. It is designed to help parents who left children in the care of relatives in their home country when they came to the U.S., but have recently been reunited when the children crossed the border in the recent surges, many traveling unaccompanied.