Employment & Income

About the Marj and Mak Vocational Center

Fifty percent of women arrive at N Street Village with no income. Our goal is to meet her where she is and provide opportunities for income and employment growth. We also recognize the importance of community in the healing and recovery process, and we promote peer leadership programs that help women feel connected and empowered. Launched in 2019 to support women in their goals related to education, income and/or employment, the MARJ & MAK Vocational Center (MMVC) provides women with access to job seeking, job training, education and financial literacy services.

Services

Virtual and In-person Classes

Classes cover a variety of important topics including job searches, mock interviews, resume creation, financial counseling, and life skills.

Computer Lab Access

Clients have access to computers to assist with job searching, email correspondence, and browsing the web.

Workforce Fridays

An opportunity for corporate groups to connect meaningfully with our clients through 1:1 job search coaching, resume creation, mock interviews, and career advice.

Financial Counseling

Clients can get assistance on accessing their credit score, paying down debt, budgeting, and long-term investing.

Employment Coaching

We tailor our approach to meet the client's needs. We provide 1:1 support to help clients get connected to workforce training and employment opportunities.

Access to Benefits (SSI/SSDI)

For clients who are unable to work due to a disability, we help connect them to SSI or SSDI benefits to help them access important financial resources.

2021 Outcomes

$156,000+

of in-kind
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donations for the Annual Auction

121

clients
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improved income-building skills through workforce development classes.

25

residents
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were connected to employment or benefits.

Voices of the Village

Learn more stories of healing, hope, and transformation from Village clients:

Pertrina

Pertrina was born in Washington, D.C. to high school sweethearts who divorced when she was young. Her mother remarried a man who provided financially for the family. Pertrina lived in a beautiful home, attended a good school, and went on nice vacations. As a teenager, Pertrina was victim to a violent sexual trauma that she kept secret for more than 40 years.

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Paula

Paula arrived at N Street Village in 2016, carrying everything she owned in three bags and towing years of bitterness, anger, and despair.

Paula had a successful career for 16 years, a husband, and two sons. Then she got the call from her sister – her father had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and needed help. She uprooted her family, left everything behind, and came back to her childhood home in D.C. to care for her dad. A few years after moving her husband passed away suddenly from a heart attack. Four months later, her father died.

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Nataki

My name is Nataki, which means “princess” in Swahili.

There were no transgender role models in the city where I grew up. As I got older, the only way I knew how to be myself was by going to clubs, prostitution, and using drugs.

Read Full Story
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