This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, May 13, 2013 - Roni Chambers, executive director of Go! Network, will participate in a congressional briefing Thursday in Washington with U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., about the impact of unemployment on Americans.
Conyers introduced the Humphrey-Hawkins full employment and training act to assist the unemployed. The briefing, being organized by Penguin Books, will include author and filmmaker D.W. Gibson whose documentary and book "Not Working” is based on his travels across the nation in 2011 to chronicle the plight of the unemployed.
Chambers noted that Conyers’ bill has co-sponsors from districts across the country, and she is hoping to spread her message about Go! Network’s focus on helping white-collar employees find new careers.
"I hope to educate them about the segment of the population that we serve, which is not served by government-funded employment offices in their states, and to encourage them to invite Go! Network to their cities,’’ Chambers said. "Let’s get about establishing a Go! Network in their cities so we can make the same kind of positive results there.”
Chambers, a former human resources executive with Anheuser-Busch, was among the St. Louisans Gibson interviewed for his documentary. Before being laid off by A-B, Chambers handled the layoffs of hundreds of workers at A-B. As part of her own transition, Chambers joined Go! Network. She later assumed a leadership role with Go! helping to guide the organization from its own transition as a short-term program funded by local corporations to an ongoing nonprofit that provides training workshops and networking events for the unemployed.
Chambers will be joined by two other participants in the documentary: Bridgette Lacy is a former media relations manager for the North Carolina Arts Council, whose blog about looking for a new job became a regular column about unemployment for the News & Observer. Before joining the ranks of the jobless, Bob Bendig of Pittsburgh used to run a security firm that escorted laid-off corporate employees from their desks to their cars. More information about the "Not Working” project can be found on its website.
