The Just Work Economic Initiative works to employ individuals who can’t find “traditional employment.” They recently answered a few questions for me about the work they’ve been doing!

Q: How did this all come about?

A: Through our work as volunteers in the community we heard a common concern amongst those who regularly frequent soup kitchens and other charitable organizations seeking help. While they were able to meet some of their basic needs for food, clothing and housing they were unable to find work. Hearing this, members of Grandview Calvary Baptist Church developed the idea of JustWork as a way to offer employment opportunities to individuals who would like to work, but may otherwise be seen as unemployable. JustWork officially began in February 2004 with a four-pronged strategy to assist those on the margins – offering employment counseling, a job-match program, support for those with dreams of starting a small business, and social enterprise development for individuals facing major hurdles to the workforce.

Since the last half of 2005, JustWork has focused most of its time and energy on the development of social enterprises. They wanted to assist those in their midst facing the most daunting challenges to finding work, and social enterprises seem to be the best tool available for this task.

Before the development of JustWork, a pottery studio in the basement of the church welcomed local people who weren’t able to afford classes or other studios. An open drop-in time began for people to learn play with clay and work on their own projects. The studio’s mission is to foster community, healing, acceptance dignity and creativity.

The pottery business started with the idea that it would use the existing studio and people would get paid for their pottery work. This would bring in an income as well as foster community and dignity.

Q: Why pottery? What are the benefits that people get from working there?

A: Clay is one of the easier and accessible forms of art. It is creative and completely hands-on. It is dirty but satisfying. When we don’t have much control over our lives, we can see that we can have lots of control over the clay and can make something from start to finish. We can imagine something and make it within and month-long period. This is the gift of clay, the therapy of clay.

The benefits of work here are the community that is formed as they work together, creating in a small space, the dignity that is gained from seeing their pieces bought and loved by others, and being able to work well, contributing to good work for the income.

Q: Two of the biggest rewards of working with clay?

A: We have control over the clay, as I mentioned above, that the process and the control and the molding is up to us, and that we can be creative in this process.

It is also hands-on…working with the hands and the body is both redeeming and healing.

Q: Do they find that despite their varying living conditions or situations, they connect via the pottery…not only the learning experience, but also in the craft itself?

A: There is a community that is forming in our studio. They talk as they work together about their plight, their struggle, their daily needs, their recovery. They have become friends with each other and see each other outside of the studio and work. They worry about each other and try to take care of one another.


For more information about Just Work, check out their Etsy shop and blog. Just can also follow them on Twitter over here.