44 Friday October 5, 1984 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS BREAKING FROM THE -- HOME FIRES. Displaced homemakers newly widowed or divorced women in need of income — are turning to the Jewish Vocational Service to discover their work skills and find a job. BY CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ Special to The Jewish News Three years ago when Ellen Re- znik became a widow at age 51, not only did she lose her husband — she lost her job. For thirty years, Reznik's only employer had been her family. And now, with the kids grown up and no one but herself to take care of, Re- znik's only skill, homemaking, was no longer rewarding. This soft-spoken Southfield woman with red hair and brown eyes was unable to enter the working world for lack of skills and confidence. "I've always worked, but I've never received a paycheck," says Re- znik, referring to her homemaking re- sponsibilities and volunteer jobs. She was vice president of the sisterhood at Cong. Beth Abraham Hillel Moses, and active in P.T.O. and Brownies at -the local public school for several years. But organizing Kiddush and a Girl Scout cookie sale won't grant her a job interview. Reznick is not alone in finding the transition from homemaker to wage earner difficult. She is one of about 5.5 million women who are displaced homemakers — women forced out of the kitchen through widowhood, di- vorce or other crisis and thrust into the working world. A national conference in 1978 on displaced homemakers led to the for- mation of The Displaced Homemakers Network Inc. in Washington D.C. This national, non-profit organization serves as an information clearing house that monitors legislation to encourage and expand programs for displaced homemakers. According to Jill Miller, executive director of The Displaced Homemak- ers Network, it is difficult to estimate the exact number of displaced homemakers in the United States. "There have been a couple of efforts to f atimate the number and conserva- ively we consider it to be four million — probably seven million It's some- where between there," says Miller. Miller notes that one out of every two people getting married today will be displaced at some point, through divorce or widowhood. She mentions that not all women are choosing homemaking as a career but some are. So, for every Mary Cunningham Rita Morse helps former homemakers obtain jobs. climbing the corporate ladder, there's Ellen Reznik working in the kitchen. More than 400 programs in the United States help displaced homemakers. In Michigan, there are 10 programs funded by the Michigan Department of Labor, Office of Women in Work. One such program, which began in October 1981, is run through the Jewish Vocational Service (JVS) and Community Workshop. This non-sectarian program serves over 100 women per year. Sixty percent of the women completing the program are placed in employment with another 10-15 percent in training Job specialist Rita Morse, center, discusses "job club" with Ellen Reznik, Edwina Davis, Nancy Paulus and Diana Solari. - and educational workshops. In order to qualify for the program, women must meet the guidelines for being a dis- placed homemaker. Guidelines in- clude being a homemaker for a minimum of ten years, losing financial support through separation, divorce, widowhood or disability of a spouse, and lacking sufficient skills to obtain employment _ . Sherri Lumberg, program coor- dinator of the Displaced Homemakers Program at the JVS, and Rita Morse, job placement specialist, have helped women ages 34-71 gain self-esteem and find a job. They have a chance to talk to one another and start to find out that they're not alone in their feelings of being scared, confused and angry. They start to see that other people show the same kinds of feelings and and share similar stories and circum- stances. So, there's some kind of sup- port that starts right from the begin- ning in meeting each other," says Lumberg. This six-ten week program has three phases: orientation, workshop and job club. When the women first enter the program, they get ac- quainted with the group and meet in- dividually with the coordinators. They then take a series of tests for 11/2 days, which determines their aptitude and interests. In the eight-day workshop, the women talk about their strengths, interests and values and how they re- late to employment. The coordinators interpret the tests, and the women do career exploration. They are intro- duced to the JVS library and taught how to use books and directories on occupations. Most of the workshop concen- trates on job-selling skills — filling out applications, writing resumes and conducting telephone and personal in- terviews. The women practice inter- views on audio-visual equipment. We really polish job seeking skills," says Lumberg. In job club, which meets every Wednesday and Friday, the women meet in a large room with a conference table, several telephones and a bulle- tin board listing employment. They are encouraged to call employers and set up interviews. Ellen Reznick went to the JVS Oak Park office (25900 Greenfield Rd.) in May to "find direction." Reznik learned about the program through an article in The Jewish News. She and nine other women are busy working on their resume this summer morning. Reznik is secure listing her volunteer activities and newly-acquired word processing cer- tificate. "These skills transfer to the office," says Reznik. She uses key words like competent, dependable and adaptable from a list of notes in her folder. The program has been great. It has given me more confidence in my skills that have been hidden as a homemaker."