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Project HOPE buoys future
By Denise Dick
Youngstown
A federal grant received by Eastern Gateway Community College is helping a New Waterford man realize his dream.
David Johnson, 35, is pursuing his licensed practical nursing certification at EGCC, taking classes at Choffin Career and Technical Center.
“It’s an accelerated program,” Johnson said.
Those who successfully complete the program will earn their certification in 10 months.
“It’s intense,” the New Waterford man said.
Johnson is one of the beneficiaries of Project HOPE.
“Project HOPE is the program with the $14 million grant to provide support services for students entering certain health fields at EGCC” and other universities, Ann Koon, EGCC spokeswoman, said in an email.
EGCC received a $14 million federal grant to implement the Hope Coalition that provides eligible low-income residents with the opportunity to obtain education and training for a health-care career job.
The five-year grant, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the federal health-care bill, supports program growth throughout the college’s service district of Columbiana, Jefferson, Mahoning and Trumbull counties, according to an EGCC news release.
Eastern Gateway’s grant was the only one chosen in the state of Ohio and was one of 17 awarded nationally.
The grant has three main objectives, according to the release:
To create the Hope Coalition comprised of institutions of higher education, One-Stops, Workforce Investment Act agencies, career and training centers, other community support agencies, apprenticeship providers, employers and Adult Basic Literacy Education programs,
To create three new career pathways to be offered throughout the college’s service area.
To expand health-care programs at the college.
Because the class and clinical hours run from early morning through afternoon, Johnson had to cut back on his hours at Shepherd of the Valley in Boardman.
“From the day I turned 16, I’ve had a job,” he said. “I’ve never not had a job.”
He’s worked at Shepherd of the Valley for about two years, starting as a state-tested nursing assistant and working up to being a restorative aide.
“I absolutely fell in love with it,” Johnson said. “I love working with the residents. A lot of people look at residents as old people with no value. That’s not true. There’s so much personality and wisdom there. You usually have like 13 to 15 people assigned to you per day. It’s like having 13 to 15 grandparents that day.”
The residents appreciate Johnson too, he said.
“They see you and their face lights up, because they know they’re going to have a good day because you’re there,” Johnson said. “I found my calling.”
He’s worked in many fields: foreman at a plastics factory, car salesman, backup financing officer and video-store manager.
Ultimately, he hopes to become a registered nurse and possibly a nurse practitioner.
Project HOPE assigns student coaches to low-income participants who need them.
“We hook them up with community resources that exist already,” said Wendy Pakalnis, a student coach who works with Project HOPE students at Choffin.
That may include an agency to help with heating bills or other utility payments.
For Johnson, Pakalnis connected him with a program to help him secure medication at a lower cost.
The program also provides gas cards as incentive for attendance.
“They make sure you have the ability to get to school,” Johnson said. “Without that, it would be a lot more of a struggle to get to school.”