My Turn helps young folks with issues find road to success

Tanika Hussey with her daughter and her ride. (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - Things are going good right now for Tenika Hussey.

The 23-year-old Rochester mom's got a good full-time job as a medical assistant, a nice apartment for her and her two kids and a nice car to get her to work and around town.

But it wasn't always that way.

Back in May 2017 she had just ended a relationship with her children's father and found herself in dire straits, broke and homeless.

"Breaking up with him began the spiral," she said. "He had a job which was what kept us there. When I left him, I was homeless with two kids; I was at rock bottom."

Tenika Hussey during training for medical assistant. (Courtesy photo)

But then Hussey heard from friends that there was a place called "My Turn" that could help people like her get a fresh start.

"I knew it'd be so much easier to get everything handed to me, but I didn't want my kids to grow up seeing us live life like that," she said. "I didn't want them to think that was the way life was supposed to be."

So instead of signing up for a bunch of benefits through welfare and other government agencies, she signed on with My Turn, which gives struggling parents and others who've met with hardship help turning the corner to a better life focused on independence and self-reliance.

My Turn is a regional nonprofit that zeroes in on removing barriers to gainful employment and independence. It operates in Rochester out of a small office at 1 Winter Street.

Its mission statement is to "help youth develop goals, skills and confidence needed to transition successfully into post-secondary education or training and the world of work."

And to accomplish that mission the organization is prepared to do pretty much anything, said Allison Joseph, My Turns executive director.

My Turn operates several school-based programs in New Hampshire as well as several community-based programs like the one in Rochester.

While the high school programs concentrate on helping troubled teens graduate, those that are community based focus more on job acquisition and retention.

Part of the allure for employers is that My Turn pays for up to 160 hours of wages and liability insurance while participants get to see if they and their employer are a good fit.

And while they're in the program, My Turn might also pay other expenses for participants including everything from rental deposits to child care (the majority of clients are young parents) to insurance premiums.

In Rochester there are two major pathways to employment: manufacturing, and hospitality and medical. Some of the companies My Turn already partners with are Rochester Manor, Colonial Hill, The Homemakers, Revolution Taproom and Grill, Magrillas, Turbocam and Index Packaging.

My Turn Rochester staff, from left, Erin Foran, Career Specialist, Stacey Shea, Program Support Specialist, Allison Joseph, Executive Director, Laurie Basham, Career Specialist. (Rochester Voice photo)

While working their paid internships they receive the same basic pay as regular employees, Joseph said.

Not anybody can take advantage of what My Turn offers, however. Participants must have suffered some hardship, whether brushes with the law, dropping out of school, homelessness, drug or alcohol addiction or some other adversity.

Participants must also be under age 25 when they enter the program, which is underwritten in large part by funding from the federal Workforce Education and Opportunity Act.

Once enrolled in the program, Joseph said My Turn staff do whatever it takes to make sure their charges are ready to work the first day on the job, have training in conflict resolution among coworkers, have a good attitude about taking an entry level job, and, above all else, show up for work five minutes early!

"They have to show up on time, be ready to work and willing to learn," Joseph said.

Asked whether those concepts should be self-evident, she adds, "Some of these kids don't have good role models from parents and grownups."

My Turn has a success ration of well over 90 percent, with Joseph adding that many My Turn alums return years after to thank staff for their helping hand.

Summing up My Turn's mantra, she says, "A lot of what we do is barrier removal, so that could mean getting a young mom child care, paying for back child care and assisting with transportation. "We've even bought four cars."

One of those cars was a black 2006 Chevrolet Impala with just 110,000 miles on it that was bought for Hussey, who found transportation to and from her work as a medical assistant had become a major hurdle.

Now she's working full time making some $13 an hour, has an apartment for her and her kids and is loving her independent lifestyle.

"My Turn was a great option for me," she said. "You get what you put into it."

But the biggest payoff for Hussey was what her oldest daughter said to her when she graduated from medical assistant school.

"After my graduation, she said I want to grow up and be a nurse just like you," she said.

For more info go to http://my-turn.org or call 603.335.1177.