Bread for the City’s Workforce Development Program works closely with unemployed and underemployed clients by providing a continuum of life management and job readiness training services that are individualized, holistic and goal specific.

The program helps BFC clients develop the skills necessary to secure and retain employment through a four-tiered approach: job readiness workshops, case management, life skills coaching, and job placement.

Job Readiness Workshops

Job Readiness Workshops operate for five-week sessions, with classes held twice weekly.  Workshop topics include: resume and cover letter writing, job search strategies, interviewing skills, work ethics, time management, interpersonal and communication skills, and job retention.

Case Management

Case Managers conduct initial assessments for clients new to the program. They lead clients in individualized goal setting and in the development of clients’ individual life skills/work readiness plans. Case Managers provide direct weekly support to clients.  In addition, they provide information and referrals to appropriate programs to help clients achieve goals. Case Managers also meet with prospective employers and job training/placement programs in support of participants’ progress toward successful employment.

Life Skills Coaching

Volunteer mentors, called Life Skills Coaches, work individually with each client via telephone, email, and meetings at BFC’s Southeast Center. They help clients develop the skills they are learning in class and reinforce the support and direction that clients receive from their case managers. Life Skills Coaches edit resumes and cover letters, teach clients how to conduct Internet job searches, conduct mock interviews and more. Most importantly, coaches provide our clients with the sense of support and confidence they need to truly enter the workforce.

Job Placement

Once our clients reach graduation, we help connect graduates with job opportunities, and we even offer paid internships for graduates right here at Bread for the City. Last year, 71% of graduates found work, or entered an educational/job training program.

Workforce Development clients benefit from additional programs at Bread for the City that are critical to helping students meet their basic human needs while they gain the necessary skills to find employment.  In addition to our clothing closet that provides students with appropriate interview apparel, our medical clinic provides free job physicals to enable students to complete job applications.

Department Phone Line: 202.386.7016

Bread for the City provides representative payee services to Washington, DC residents who need assistance in managing their personal financial affairs. The Representative Payee Program (RPP) provides payee services, under a contract with the DC Department of Behavioral Health (DBH), to consumers with chronic mental illness who are referred by a case manager of DBH or an affiliated Core Service Agency.

The Representative Payee Program helps DBH clients manage various types of income, including Social Security benefits (retirement or disability), Supplemental Security Income, and Civil Service Pensions.

Forms from our Representative Payee Program may be found in the Social Services Documents.

What is a Representative Payee?

A Representative Payee is an individual or an organization designated to receive disability benefits on a client’s behalf. The Representative Payee then helps the client to budget the money and disburses the funds to pay for current needs, including housing and utilities, food, medical expenses, personal care and clothing. The Representative Payee must keep records of how the client’s money is spent. This information is reported regularly to the Social Security Administration or to the Office of Personnel Management.

How does the Representative Payee Program work?

Clients enrolled in Bread for the City’s Representative Payee Program work with their mental health service providers and Bread for the City staff to make sure that all of their financial needs are met.

The client’s case manager at the DC Department of Behavioral Health or a DBH affiliated Core Service Agency makes an initial referral to Bread for the City for payee services. The client is enrolled at a start-up meeting with the case manager and a Representative Payee Program staff member during which we discuss how the services work.

After enrollment, Bread for the City applies to the Social Security Administration or Office of Personnel Management to become the client’s Representative Payee. The client and his or her mental health case manager meet regularly to set and review the client’s monthly budget and discuss any emergency spending requests. Bread for the City relies on the case manager to be in regular contact with the client and keep Bread for the City informed about changes in the client’s needs that might affect the budget or benefits.

Contacting the Representative Payee Program

The RPP can be reached by phone at 202.386.7016 – the Program Assistant is able to answer many questions about the status of client accounts and requests. The program assigns a RPP Coordinator to work with the clients and staff based on the DBH provider where the client is enrolled.

Please see the RPP Directory in the documents section for further details on how to contact us.

Community Empowered is a wellness program for BFC clients that seeks to help them to achieve overall wellness of the mind, body, and spirit by offering a wealth of workshops and activities. Some of the workshops have included but are not limited to the following:

• Behavioral health courses
• Self-care sessions
• Legal information workshops
• Physical health workshops
• Resume writing
• Public speaking
• Interviewing skills
• Fitness classes
• CPR/AED training

Currently, the workshops are conducted on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For additional information, please contact Donnie Hampton, Associate Director of SE Social Services, at 202-587-0530.

Bread for the City’s Behavioral Health Specialists work with the healthcare providers in the medical clinic to help patients with their behavioral health needs.  Among other interventions, our specialists teach patients healthy coping skills, exercises that calm the body’s nervous system, and practice cognitive restructuring to challenge negative thinking that could lead to depression and anxiety.