The DuPagePads Education and Employment Services (EES) team works year-round to empower individuals and families experiencing homelessness with the essential tools and skills needed to advance their careers and enhance their stability. Our employment specialists wear many hats to help our clients secure higher-paying jobs, enabling them to navigate the high cost of living in DuPage County while also building their savings. By assessing strengths, skills, and work experience, our team aims to find careers that are compatible to the needs and abilities of each candidate.
The Empowerment Center, located in Downers Grove just four blocks from the Interim Housing Center (IHC), is the heartbeat of the EES team, and serves as a centralized hub for DuPagePads clients to access the tools they need to work on their career and educational goals. Clients can enroll in courses on resume building,
The DuPagePads Education and Employment Services (EES) team works year-round to empower individuals and families experiencing homelessness with the essential tools and skills needed to advance their careers and enhance their stability. Our employment specialists wear many hats to help our clients secure higher-paying jobs, enabling them to navigate the high cost of living in DuPage County while also building their savings. By assessing strengths, skills, and work experience, our team aims to find careers that are compatible to the needs and abilities of each candidate.
The Empowerment Center, located in Downers Grove just four blocks from the Interim Housing Center (IHC), is the heartbeat of the EES team, and serves as a centralized hub for DuPagePads clients to access the tools they need to work on their career and educational goals. Clients can enroll in courses on resume building, improving soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving, and learning how to use a variety of different career discovery techniques. Our staff works hard to create opportunities with local employers and offer many different vocational and educational training programs.
We are thrilled to share that earlier this July, we had the privilege of hosting a Job & Resource Fair for our IHC and Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) clients! This event, and the week leading up to the Job Fair, aimed to empower our clients with resources and connections they need to embark on a new chapter of self-sufficiency through employment advancement.
DuPagePads is grateful to the many community partners who joined us and made this event not only possible, but a huge success! Lauren Milligan, Education Specialist at DuPagePads, knows one thing is certain: events like this are not possible without volunteer community support.
“Our volunteers provided resumes, interview skills, clothing assistance, and sharp haircuts prior to the event, while others kept everything running smoothly during the event,” said Lauren.
One incredible partner was Poised for Success (read more here), a Lombard nonprofit that provides, at no charge, interview and business-appropriate attire to women in need who are navigating the job market. Thanks to a referral program with social service agencies such as DuPagePads, they were able to connect with our clients and help them to feel prepared for interviews, looking and feeling like the best version of themselves!
Kayla Wetzig, Employment Specialist, says the event filled our staff with joy.
“The most amazing part of this event was seeing everyone come together and seeing our job seekers feeling like their most confident selves!” shared Kayla. “The energy in the environment was contagious. Events like these demonstrate the power of community!”
The 2026 Job & Resource Fair was a huge success, bringing together more than 50 DuPagePads clients with 20+ potential employers and community resources. It is thanks to your support that DuPagePads can provide our outstanding clients with pathways to advancing their employment and ultimately finding their way back home. Thank you for being a vital part of their journey, and stay tuned to hear about some employment successes!
