Needy seeking leg up get FIT

Don McKoy came to FIT for an Independent Tomorrow about a month ago for help transitioning from his new, sober life at a downtown shelter to a new, sober life with a good-paying job.

"I'm looking for a career at this point in my life, not a job," the 49-year-old said. "After 30 years of alcohol and drug abuse, I need something I can build on."

Franzes Castillo came to FIT after seeing it on a list of social service agencies when she was applying for food stamps.

The 42-year-old former pantry worker had hit rock bottom after turning to drugs to ease the pain of a divorce.

"I started getting high, and I lost my job," she said. "Several times I wanted help, but I got so overwhelmed."

FIT, a 10-year-old local nonprofit, accepts about 60 new clients such as McKoy and Castillo each month.

Its goal is to help people who are unemployed or underemployed get the free training and education they need to get the kind of jobs that allow them to be self-sufficient.

FIT says the majority of its clients are hardworking, poverty-stricken heads of households without formal education beyond high school.

The average income of clients when they come to the program is $8,000, FIT says.

Upon graduation from their chosen training program, clients' incomes average just over $26,500.

The agency provides vocational testing and assesses clients' interests and skills.

It pays for client training at local vocational or other schools.

It also helps clients find free or low-cost business clothing, pays for bus passes and other needs.

People can choose their own career fields in which to train, as long as they are viable, said Jara Fansler, FIT's community outreach manager.

"We look at the wage range (for the field). The ultimate goal is to be self-sufficient."

FIT staffers want their clients to score jobs that pay at least $10 an hour.

FIT clients must be at least 18 years old, have at least six months of sobriety, agree to random drug testing and a background check and have a financial need for services.

McKoy hopes FIT will help him go to school to become a chef.

Castillo has been taking computer classes at FIT and polishing her résumé.

She's not yet sure whether she wants to work as a dental assistant, a pharmacy assistant or in an office.

Her goal is to get a decent job first, then make a decision about what kind of schooling she'd like to pursue.

McKoy and Castillo agreed they found FIT at just the right time.

"I'd have a big question mark in my life without it," McKoy said.

"I would be lost," Castillo said tearfully. "Everything they've given me, the support, constant encouragement, what a gift."

The need for that kind of gift in the Las Vegas Valley seems to be growing, Fansler said.

"We now have a waiting list, which we've never encountered before."

Partly to deal with the increased demand, FIT recently started construction on a $3.5 million, 12,600-square-foot center near Martin Luther King and Lake Mead boulevards.

The city of Las Vegas provided a land grant, and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. donated $1.5 million toward the project.

The building should be completed sometime in the spring.

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis @reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0285.