KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One thing led to another for Jenny Orrick. After a burn and infection, she lost her job, then her home. Orrick spent four years unhoused around the Kansas City metropolitan area.
“It was survival mode,” she said. “Going to live on couch to couch, asking for help.”
Orrick landed in a transitional housing program at Bridge of Hope which was able connect her with Goodwill. After completing Goodwill’s Bridge to Technology program, the nonprofit hired her as a digital inclusion instructor.
“I like being that support for somebody,” she said.
In her role, Orrick travels with Goodwill’s new Mobile Workforce Unit. The bus is equipped with several computers and internet access. At each stop, she helps people create email addresses while also teaching them basic computer literacy and helps them apply for jobs online. The service is free for anyone.
“I think all my life since I was a little kid has been helping somebody,” Orrick said.
On Thursday, the Mobile Workforce Unit was parked outside 8236 Wornall Road in Kansas City, Missouri, which will be Goodwill’s newest thrift store.
The agency’s retail stores help support the work Goodwill does through the community like the Mobile Workforce Unit and Bridge to Technology program.
“You can never go wrong giving back,” James McDaniel said.
Goodwill hired McDaniel Thursday to work at the new store when it opens. He completed the application process in the Mobile Workforce Unit.
Orrick hopes to reach even more people like McDaniel.
“Showing them the right path. That is amazing because I didn’t have that, so I had to learn it all by myself. So I’m taking what I learned and I’m paying it forward,” she said.
The Mobile Workforce Unit will be at City Market Saturday morning.
