Program helps seniors earn extra income

    If your age is up and your income and job skills are down, SCSEP wants to put you to work — immediately!
    Job seekers 55 and over could be in for a special treat when introduced to a little-known federally-funded program called SCSEP, otherwise known as Senior Community Service Employment Program. Pronounced See-Sep, with the emphasis on “Sep,” the program works hard to place older workers in unsubsidized jobs after their paid six-month training period.  Current training sites include: St. John Valley Soil & Water Conservation District, The Upper St. John River Association, Precious Paws Rescue and Adoption, The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Penobscot Indian Nation, Caribou Historic Society, Washburn schools and the local CareerCenter. Any 501-C nonprofit organization is eligible for a SCSEP participant at no cost to them. Think schools, libraries, museums, social service agencies, boys’ and girls’ clubs, government offices from the town to federal variety, parks and police departments, hospitals and other medical centers that serve physical and/or mental needs.
    Although some federal programs are noted for their hurry-up-and-wait process, SCSEP is not one of them. Qualified participants are often on their training site within a week, rarely do they wait more than two, and being placed within a day or so is not rare.
    The program also requires that participants meet income guidelines at or under 125 percent of poverty level. Although the chart for computing this is simple, exceptions and computations for them can be complex. The good news, however, is that job-seekers are not required to figure this; SCSEP pros do it for them, often at the time of your first phone call, not later than your first meeting.
    If there’s a downside to SCSEP, it’s the voluminous amount of registration paperwork. On the plus side though, SCSEP professionals determine that you are, indeed, qualified for the program before you complete it; thus, unlike many job applications, you know your writer’s cramps will not be in vain. Additionally, if paperwork really puts you into the middle of next week and you whine loudly enough, a SCSEP employee will all but do it for you.
    Participants are placed in part-time training sites 20 hours per week, at $7.50 per hour. OK, so you won’t get rich right away, but if you were unemployed, you’re already ahead of the game by 735 percent. And you’re going to gain something worth more than money, i.e., experience, learning and education. Usually, you’d have to pay someone else for this. But with the SCSEP program, they’re paying you.
    So if you’re 55 or over, not rich, want to sharpen old job skills or learn new ones — and be paid to do so — pick up the nearest telephone now. To find the SCSEP office nearest you, call 800-741-2991, extension 39039, or 207-400-4309 to reach Cynthia Dowd, Goodwill SCSEP program coordinator.
    Immediate Openings: 10 paid training positions open in Aroostook County. Intakes for the program will be done in Fort Kent by appointment and at the Presque Isle CareerCenter on Oct.  21, 22 and 23. Call today to reserve an interview.