staceybooks

People love to throw out phrases like “Just get a job,” as if employment magically solves everything. As if the moment someone clocks in, all the barriers that held them back just vanish.

If only it were that simple.

I work with individuals rebuilding their lives, people who’ve been locked out of opportunity because of poverty, incarceration, addiction, trauma, and systemic inequality. Some are coming out of prison. Others are barely holding it together. And what I’ve learned through my own journey and theirs is this:

Getting a job isn’t hard.

Keeping a job when life is falling apart? That’s the hard part.

See, work doesn’t exist in a bubble. It’s deeply connected to every other part of a person’s life. You can offer someone the best job in the world, but if they can’t get to it, can’t afford childcare, or are struggling with untreated mental health issues, the opportunity dies before it ever had a chance.

Let’s stop pretending employment is the cure-all and start talking about what’s actually holding people back.

The Commute That Never Comes

Transportation is one of the most overlooked barriers to employment. Reliable public transit is rare in rural areas, and in many cities, routes are limited or inaccessible. I’ve seen people walk five miles just to attend a training. Some borrow bikes, others bum rides from whoever will help. Getting there becomes a job in itself.

A Roof Over Their Head, But Nothing Under Their Feet

Housing insecurity affects everything. When you’re sleeping on a friend’s couch or living out of a car with your kids, showing up on time with a smile and fresh clothes isn’t always possible. Stability matters. And yet, too many are working full-time and still one emergency away from losing everything.

Child Care: The Missing Link in the Workforce Conversation

You want to empower parents, especially women, to reenter the workforce? Start with child care. If it’s not affordable, flexible, and safe, it’s not an option. And for many of the people I serve, it’s the exact reason they can’t take the job, or have to walk away from it.

Healing Isn’t Optional, It’s Essential

Mental health and substance use are rarely talked about in workforce conversations, but they’re the backbone of success. I know because I’ve lived it. I’ve watched people self-sabotage not because they didn’t care, but because they never had space to heal. When you’re carrying trauma, it walks into the interview with you. It sits beside you at your desk. It doesn’t just disappear because you want it to.

The Credentials Gap That’s Really an Opportunity Gap

I’ve met some of the brightest minds inside prison walls and in reentry programs. They’re innovative, resourceful, and resilient, but too often they’re dismissed because they lack a degree or formal training. That’s not a talent problem. That’s a broken system problem. And we’re the ones who have to fix it.

The truth is, employment is just one piece of a much larger puzzle.

If we want people to succeed, we have to stop focusing solely on job placement and start addressing everything else: housing, transportation, childcare, healing, education, dignity, community, and hope.

Because when we meet people where they are and walk with them instead of judging them from a distance, that’s when transformation happens.

Not just for them.

But for all of us.