Opening the (closet) door to success

By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
BOARDMAN -- How can a job seeker dress professionally for an interview when she has no savings and needs the cash she has to feed herself and her children?
Nobody understands that dilemma better than Leslie Mitchell.
Once a divorced mother on welfare, Mitchell is the new director of Clothesline to Success, a program providing business clothing, free, to low-income Mahoning County Job & amp; Family Services job hunters.
A conservative navy blue skirt suit helped Mitchell land her first job in retail clothing sales years ago. Now she's helping others with job interview clothing choices and work-wardrobe planning.
Clothesline to Success was founded about five years ago by the county jobs agency, but until recently, the program's collection of donated business clothing for men and women was crammed into a tiny room at its offices on Youngstown's East Side.
Relocation
The program has been relocated to new, larger quarters at 5200 Market St., at Shields Road in Boardman, to be operated by a nonprofit agency, Systems of Help Unlimited.
To qualify for services, a job seeker must be referred to the program by a MJ & amp;FS job counselor and must call for an appointment. Mitchell said she interviews the client briefly, by phone, to determine his or her size, color and style preferences.
She's organized the men's and women's suits, dresses and separates by size and color and grouped some with scarves, blouses and other accessories, drawing on her experience as a retail sales associate.
Preparations
Mitchell said she likes to prepare for an appointment by assembling several outfits in the job seeker's size, with pieces that can mix and match when possible.
"I've been there. I can identify," Mitchell said. "I want to make them feel like the queens that I know they are."
Program guidelines allow one interview outfit for a MC & amp;FS client who is looking for a job and two more outfits when that person gets a position. On rare occasions, if the Clothesline can't provide appropriate attire in the client's size, the jobs agency may provide a voucher for new clothing.
Happy Monroe, a licensed cosmetologist, has also offered to volunteer her services occasionally, by appointment, to provide hairstyling and manicures for Clothesline clients heading for a job interview.
Partners
Andrea Mahone, a job developer for MJ & amp;FS, said agency planners were looking for a reliable partner to run the program. Space was a problem, and job counselors felt they were too busy helping clients search for work to spend the time needed on wardrobe-building skills.
"We deal with a lot of ladies with low self-esteem, people on welfare, women who have been the victims of domestic violence," she said. "We needed someone to take it over, someone willing to spend the time and care for these people."
Mitchell has seen only a couple of clients since the Clothesline moved in September, but Patty Joyce, also a MJ & amp;FS job developer, said planners are confident she'll get busier. "This is an extremely slow time for employment," she said, adding that retail stores hired less temporary help this holiday season.
Founders
SOHU founders Denis and Sandra Robinson said they were eager to take on the Clothesline project because they have a heart for poor people who want to be self-supporting.
The owners of two Youngstown businesses, San-Dee's Child Care on the East Side and Robinsong Productions on the South Side, the couple said they started Systems of Help Unlimited in January with a goal of meeting immediate food and clothing needs for poor families. The center also operates a food pantry.
Under its partnership arrangement, the county jobs agency will help organize clothing drives to supply the Clothesline project and will refer clients there -- Systems of Help Unlimited will pay the cost of utilities, leasing space for the clothing center and staffing.
The Robinsons said their agency is funded solely by private donations. The agency is not affiliated with a church, but the couple said their desire to help is rooted in their Christian faith and their own experiences.
"We've been hungry. We know what that is," Sandra Robinson said. "We've had some rough times, and we always said that if we ever had a chance to help people, we would do it."
vinarsky@vindy.com