RiseKit launches web portal with Chicago Department of Family and Support Services
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Custom-designed web portal allows for citywide collaboration among community-based workforce development agencies to better serve vulnerable populations
CHICAGO – RiseKit and the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) announced the launch of www.Risekit.co/dfss a two-year workforce pilot initiative for residents experiencing homelessness, residents who are unstably housed, residents with limited English proficiency, returning citizens and other vulnerable job seekers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
www.Risekit.co/dfss serves as virtual gateway for vulnerable job seekers pursuing employment, training and supportive services on their journey towards fulfilling career pathways. Registrants can upload or build a resume, sign up for trainings, respond directly to job openings and more. DFSS and its network of community-based workforce partners will utilize the web portal to navigate registrants through a portfolio of jobs, programs and services for individuals facing unique barriers to employment such as disadvantaged background, low-income status and other common limitations.
“The need for innovation in addressing economic inequality has become more and more relevant and necessary as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect communities across Chicago,” said DFSS Commissioner Lisa Morrison Butler. “Resident-facing resources that provide virtual connectivity to workforce and social programs are more essential now than ever before. And www.Risekit.co/dfss is one of the many ways we aim to help ease the burden for all vulnerable job seekers in the city.”
DFSS partners with 57 community-based agencies to provide workforce development services for persons with criminal records, residents experiencing homelessness or are at-risk of experiencing homelessness, and persons with limited English proficiency. www.Risekit.co/dfss helps facilitate collaboration among these agencies as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and contribute to rebuilding the city’s economy.
"RiseKit is excited to work with DFSS to assist in getting help directly to residents who need it most urgently as we all work to manage and recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said RiseKit CEO Matt Strauss. “We aim to make it easier to connect Chicago's amazing community of nonprofit organizations and employers to vulnerable Chicagoans."
DFSS is part of the city’s workforce development ecosystem along with sister-agency Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership (CCWP) and other agencies like Skills for Chicagoland’s Future and the Chicago Jobs Council. To get connected to citywide workforce initiatives, job seekers can go to www.Risekit.co/dfss or call City Services at 311.
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RiseKit: RiseKit stands for a world where a person’s barriers and history do not define the careers they can create and the life they’re destined to live! RiseKit does this by bringing the entire workforce system to the individual to make it easier for them to find and stay on the right career pathway by providing them access to basic and career resources, a support network, and job opportunities – all-in-one place.
