Laboring through

Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series on how the recession is affecting the Newport-Mesa area. Part two will appear next Tuesday.

On a hot afternoon last week, a handful of young adults congregated for a class at Youth Employment Service in Costa Mesa. The scene had an air of high school — men and women seated in cliques, an inspirational quote from Maya Angelou taped to the window. The subject, though, was how to land a job, and the students listened attentively as the teacher launched into her lesson.

“I’m Robin Whitman. I have a background in retail and merchandising, and I most recently worked for a franchising company, helping them to open new stores,” began the tall, blond woman leading the class for the first time.

Then, a moment later, she leveled with the young job-seekers.

“I was laid off recently after working for them five years. So everything I’m talking about today is very near and dear to my heart.”

She served as the merchandising director for the ergonomic furniture company Relax the Back until she was laid off in November.

Whitman, a Huntington Beach resident, is one of many in the Newport-Mesa community who are out of work as job statistics continue to plummet statewide. Like many, she’s using her free time to help others — without pay. In between networking and sending out resumes, Whitman is teaching young people about a subject she knows well: the agonies of landing a job in an unsteady market.

“I don’t have a lot of money right now, so this is a way for me to give back my time,” Whitman said. “This is a group of people that needs my skills, and that makes me feel good.”

A large number of people may need Whitman’s skills right now. The state Employment Development Department announced in late August that the unemployment had risen to 11.9% in California, up from 7.3% a year ago. The department lists Costa Mesa’s unemployment rate at 8.5% and Newport Beach’s at 6%, although a spokeswoman said the numbers were estimates based on census data.

Still, the overseers of Youth Employment Service and other nonprofits around town don’t need statistics to tell them that much of Newport-Mesa is in a bind. In the last few months, charities have seen demand increase for their services, and, in some cases, supplies diminish, as usually reliable donors have not come through with their usual contributions.

But if money and supplies are scarce at times, available volunteers are plenty. A number of Newport-Mesa nonprofits have reported a surge in people, even their former employees, offering to work without pay.

“People are saying, ‘I’m looking for a job, but I can’t sit around looking for a job five days a week,’” said Dan McQuaid, president and chief executive of Volunteer Center Orange County, which has seen online volunteer referrals increase 58% from the same time a year ago.

The Center for Spiritual Living, a nondenominational church in Costa Mesa, has had unemployed volunteers come on board to rebuild its website, establish an online store and run media presentations at Sunday services. The Newport Beach Public Library recently held an orientation for prospective tutors and found that a third of the applicants had been laid off. Julie Larson, the volunteer services manager for Share Our Selves, said her group attracts about 50 volunteers on a typical day.

Many of those volunteers, Larson said, fit a common mold: people who have lost their jobs and want to network, hone their skills or just get out of the house.

“I’m definitely getting those inquiries,” she said. “Many of these people were established well in their lives, and they’ve come upon hard times. But they like to stay busy, so they’re taking a look.”

Whitman already had a volunteer history when she lost her job. She had mentored job-seeking youths for a nonprofit in Boyle Heights, and upon moving to Huntington Beach after her wedding in February, she found Youth Employment Service through an online search.

Since then, the nonprofit at 114 E. 19th St. has given her plenty of opportunities. Before starting her career-hunting class last week, Whitman worked with teenage girls on choosing appropriate outfits for a job interview.

And she’s not the only new volunteer at Youth Employment Service. Executive Director Kathy Du Vernet said more people have been offering their time since the recession began, and she recently enlisted another woman to do clerical work.

Whitman said she intends to keep volunteering for Du Vernet even if she lands a full-time job. In the meantime, she hopes her community work will help her establish contacts.

“People are learning very quickly that you don’t get jobs on Monster,” Whitman said. “About 10% of people get jobs that way. So you recognize quickly that that’s not how you’re going to spend most of your time.”