THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Friday, October 5, 1984

45'

110

We all sort of felt like it
was a group therapy
session. We all had the
same goal and that was to
strengthen and to bring
back our self-esteem."

Camille McCoy

The women —black, white,
young, old, divorced, widowed — are
chatting like old friends, while Lum-
-- berg and Morse are answering ques-
tions and giving advice on the re-
sumes. One blond, middle-aged
woman is astounded after writing her
resume: "I don't think I believe it!"
Eva Coopersmith, a divorced,
Birmingham mother in her mid-
thirties, is sipping a soft drink and tak-
ing an occasional puff on a cigarette as
she explains her experience in the dis-
placed homemaker program. To me,
personally, and in my particular
group, we all sort of felt that it was to
strengthen and to bring back our self-
esteem. I think that most of the women
in the group learned that they needed
to assert themselves more," says
Coopersmith.
Dressed for success in a black suit
with a white silk blouse trimmed in
purple, Coopersmith is asserting her-
self. She just finished calling a pro-
spective employer, and fielded difficult
questions concerning her child care
arrangement.
Her resume on thick, beige paper
neatly lists her work experience as a
sales clerk, her education in merchan-
dising and retailing, and her organiza-
tional skills as a volunteer worker.
Coopersmith believes the dis-
placed homemaker program gave her
the "push" to get her life in order.
At 44, Detroiter Carlene Stewart
is a displaced homemaker graduate,
r i May 1984. She is a secretary and re-

-

Diane Solari: Finding herself and a job.

Sherri Lumberg offers some job tips to
Nancy Paulus.

ceptionist at Artistic Mirror, a Detroit
business which designs and installs
custom mirrors. The employer con-
tacted the JVS and Stewart was hired
during job club.
After a devastating divorce which
left her emotionally and financially
insecure, she now feels good about her-
self. "I was so low, I just didn't think I
could dy anything," says Stewart.
She is enthusiastic when she talks
about the program and believes it was
a major turning point in her life. "It's
the greatest program in the world, be-
cause when I went there, I couldn't get
off my couch."

Sue Thomas and Edwina Davis review the job situation.