Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Program strives for tough love

Ruthe Deskin

Thursday, April 18, 2002 | 8:34 a.m.

A recent column regarding the homeless problem in Las Vegas brought some interesting response.

Robert Jacobson of Las Vegas has a daughter, Saundra, affiliated with a remarkable program called Second Chance/STRIVE, whose purpose is to assist the unemployed and homeless in getting back on their feet and find jobs they can keep and succeed at.

At my request she sent me some details about the program.

The original STRIVE started at a "tough love" job preparedness program in East Harlem in New York and gained national attention when it was featured on a segment of "60 Minutes" in 1997.

It now has 21 chapters across the United States, England and Puerto Rico.

What has caught the nation's attention is that about 80 percent of the participants in eight cities remained on their jobs for at least two years. Many have used low-entry jobs to lead them to successful careers.

Second Chance in San Diego, founded by Scott Silverman, became affiliated with STRIVE four years ago. According to the San Diego Union Tribune, the program has taken hundreds of unemployed and homeless people and turned them into productive workers.

A graduate of the program stated: "They really hold you accountable for what you say and what you do -- just like out in the job world.

"They help you get your past behind you and get on with your future. This is tough love, boot camp and MBA 101 at keeping a job. It's been three weeks of hell but it's been great."

"A hand up rather than a handout" is the philosophy of Second Chance/STRIVE. It seems to be working in San Diego and other cities across the country. Maybe Las Vegas and Clark County officials should take a look at this program.

Bill Walters of Walters Group said it best:

"Twenty-five years ago, a young volunteer named Linda Smith showed up at Opportunity Village asking what she could do to help people with disabilities. After serving as a volunteer for five years, she became a staff member and the rest is history.

"Today Linda Smith is known as the person who helped build a tiny charity serving a few people with intellectual disabilities into the largest such organization in the state of Nevada, and has helped change thousands of lives for the better."

On Tuesday Smith will be the honoree at a gala dinner and reception at Cili at Bali Hai Golf Club. Recognition of her outstanding humanitarian contributions to our city and state are long overdue.

What is the truth about the Social Security fund?

On the one hand, pessimists predict collapse.

But respected Washington, D.C., columnist Helen Thomas has a different perception. She recently quoted a new report from the Social Security Board of Trustees which concluded the fund will be solvent through 2041. Thomas wrote, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. And, the Social Security Fund isn't broke."

How many times have you run into an old friend, exchanged words of greetings and walked away with the suggestion, "We must have lunch sometime"?

That time just doesn't seem to happen, in spite of good intentions. Then, one day, your friend's obituary appears in the paper.