Eric Brown (left) and David Bobick cheered with fellow graduates of the Pine Street Inn’s job training programs yesterday.
(Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)
Job trainees graduate, hopeful pain is in the past
Eric Brown (left) and David Bobick cheered with fellow graduates of the Pine Street Inn’s job training programs yesterday.
(Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)
Ellen Artuey sprung out of her chair, camera in hand, to get a picture of her adult son’s graduation moment. But this wasn’t a college or high school ceremony. Artuey’s son, Eric Brown, dressed in cap and gown, was receiving a certificate for completing the Pine Street Inn’s 2010 training program for building maintenance.
Brown, 34, has been homeless for 17 years, a situation he hopes will end as a result of his recent training and other Pine Street Inn programs.
“He’s a very smart young man,’’ Artuey said of her son, who was class speaker for the group of 79 graduates honored yesterday. “Everything he’s started, he’s never finished. . . . It’s been a long struggle.’’
The event marked the 10th annual graduation ceremony for Pine Street Inn’s job programs, which train unemployed, mostly homeless, individuals for careers in building maintenance, food preparation, and cafeteria operations.
This year, however, the crowd of more than 100 that gathered under a tent behind the nonprofit’s Harrison Avenue shelter for homeless men had another reason to celebrate: 88 residents also recently obtained permanent housing in Pine Street Inn-owned properties, which charges tenants rent based on their earnings.
“I think lots of people think homelessness is a permanent state, and it’s not,’’ Lyndia Downie, Pine Street Inn’s president and executive director, said after the ceremony. Students in the job training programs, which range from 10 to 16 weeks, learn key skills and professional conduct from professionals in various fields.
According to Pine Street Inn, in good economic times about 60 percent of its training program graduates obtain jobs, internships, or additional training elsewhere. In recent years, the employment rate has been closer to 50 percent because of the slumping economy.
David Bobick, a former Pine Street Inn resident who was homeless for about nine months, went through the building maintenance program last year.
After a subsequent eight-month internship, Bobick now works full time at Done Right Building Services Inc., a cleaning, janitorial, and landscaping company based at Copley Place in Boston. He lives in Charlestown, caring for his elderly mother.
“I have to constantly remind myself of where I was two years ago and where I am now,’’ Bobick said.
Rose Oakes, who finished the food preparation program this year, said she is optimistic about landing a job. “People will always need food,’’ Oakes said.
Although the goals are employment and independent housing, Downie said, graduates of the job training programs are often encouraged to complete internships and receive more specialized instruction before entering the workforce. The tumultuous economy has increased the challenges faced by graduates, many of whom lack consistent employment records.
“We do better, obviously, when the job market’s better,’’ Downie said. “It makes it tougher, it’s [the job market] more competitive.’’
Still, the audience applauded enthusiastically yesterday as program graduates filed into their seats as “Pomp and Circumstance’’ played.
“Yeah, Dad!’’ Stephanie Papasodero, 24, of Allston shouted when her father, Ronald, walked across the stage to a accept a certificate marking his completion of the building maintenance program.
Also in attendance were also Pine Street residents eager to participate in a future training program. Robert McIntire, who lives at Pine Street’s Long Island shelter in North Quincy, wants to study food preparation and eventually become a head chef.
“We’re going to be here soon,’’ McIntire said.
Sean Teehan can be reached at steehan@globe.com. 
© Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company.
