MOVRC - Senior Community Service Employment Program

Senior Community Service Employment Program

I really enjoy my job. It makes me feel useful and the money helps each month. I worked hard so I could retire but, afterwards, I found myself looking for something useful to do, and the money didn’t go as far as I planned for it to. As a single person with grown kids and grandchildren, I am very glad to have some additional money and I like my job.

– a testimonial from a Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) participant

SCSEP is a federally-funded employment and training program empowered to help those 55 and older find a place in the workforce. It incorporates a community service component of on-the-job training at a non-profit agency/public agency to help the senior become more acclimated to the workforce.

At any one time, 60 seniors can participate in the program. Those who are finding it difficult to make ends meet may not know how to reenter the workforce or even go there for the first time. SCSEP makes sure they can at no cost to them.

SCSEP Director Karen Matthews believes older workers are America’s best kept secret. She encourages employers to see the opportunity in older workers who are experienced, reliable, dedicated, punctual, trustworthy and available. SCSEP has a pool of workers with varying degrees of skills who are ready and able to take on part-time employment.

Age is an asset. Experience is a benefit.

Some success stories can be found with satisfied employers such as the Chamber of Commerce of the Mid-Ohio Valley, Consumer Credit Counseling, Wood County Magistrate Court, Parkersburg Art Center, American Red Cross, schools, senior centers, libraries, museums, homeless shelters, Boys and Girls Club, Department of Motor Vehicles, Parkersburg Police, Try Again Homes, and more!

Eligibility

The program at the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Council is open to any senior, 55 or older, living within the eight counties who meet the income eligibility of 125% of poverty and wants to return to the job market.

Funding

SCSEP is funded by the Department of Labor and is administered by the National Council on the Aging. It is subgranted to the MOVRC. It is a unique program, begun in 1965, that offers employment and training while still maintaining a community-service aspect.