Social Capital - Nate Salazar, Goodwill Industries
Posted by Chuck Chase
on Apr 16, 2015
Dan Buron introduced Nathan Salazar, Director of Program Operations, who joined Goodwill Industries this past January. He and his family reside in the Pittsfield area and will soon be moving to Adrian. Nate spoke to members about a couple of initiatives he is responsible for at Goodwill – Social Capital and Financial Coaching – and how they fit into Goodwill’s overall framework.Social Capital, he said, was really made up of “relationships” with a focus on how information gets transferred. At Goodwill, Social Capital is how people learn about job opportunities in the community and how the organization builds mutual help to accomplish the goals they set.It’s also about how they coordinate actions that work together. In other words, “how they get things done”, Nate said. “In our community we have a problem. The problem is that low income individuals and individuals with disabilities are socially isolated and their network tends to be a closed loop.” They only know other people like themselves, he said, and therefore tend
to be the same people. Nate used an actual person when citing an example of what he was talking about. He said that this particular person, a female client, utilized Goodwill’s services. “On the outside”, he said, “you wouldn’t have thought her network was all that bad since she was highly involved in church, she has many friends, she has a solid family and was employed”. But, he continued, what is often overlooked is whether or not she has the skills to leverage those resources and relationships to help her get what she needs. Her needs might be to get the desired career or employment that she would like.
to be the same people. Nate used an actual person when citing an example of what he was talking about. He said that this particular person, a female client, utilized Goodwill’s services. “On the outside”, he said, “you wouldn’t have thought her network was all that bad since she was highly involved in church, she has many friends, she has a solid family and was employed”. But, he continued, what is often overlooked is whether or not she has the skills to leverage those resources and relationships to help her get what she needs. Her needs might be to get the desired career or employment that she would like.What Goodwill envisions is to provide people like this “holistic, wrap-around services address the key aspects of her life that are causing her challenges”. Those services include such things as employment skills, life skills, career planning and coaching (personal and financial) as well as a coordinated education plan. These services, Nate said, would then be paired with opportunities that Goodwill would provide – namely mentoring, guest speakers, community seminars and events, and connecting individuals with specific employers. All of these elements help expand this person’s network which allows her to build on her Social Capital.