Finding the right road

In order to get anywhere in life, Diana Shinall believes you need a plan.

"You need something that will show you the right way to go, to keep you on track," she said, "like a map."

It takes more than desire to find a job or make a better life for your family. Fortunately, local residents of low-income neighborhoods have a willing guide to lead the way.

As the founder and director of the Madison Apprenticeship Program (MAP), Shinall offers a 12-week program that puts the career-challenged on a positive course of action bound for success.

"The mission is to help people move from a place of despondency, despair and hopelessness to a place of hope," she said. "We teach them to believe number one in themselves and then to move forward from there."

Needed extra boost

Felicia Greer, 35, is a single mother who suffers from chronic asthma. Unable to work, she lived off a small pension left to her by her father. She struggled to raise two children in the impoverished Allied Drive neighborhood of Madison's South Side.

"I felt like I wasn't accomplishing enough," Greer said. "It didn't seem like I was moving forward. I needed that extra boost."

Self-esteem, Greer said, was a big problem. She said she also lacked the skills to find gainful employment suited to her disabilities. Greer felt lost.

"I didn't know where to go or what to do to get to a better place," she said.

Without some guidance, adverse circumstance can make it difficult for anyone to achieve success Shinall said. And the anguish of unemployment and scarce financial resources often prompts bad choices. Petty crime, domestic violence and drug abuse are common solutions to the problems many face while trying to find their way.

"And it creates a cycle," Shinall said. "If all you know is dealing drugs, that's all you're going to do. If your mother was a teenaged mother, that's likely what you'll become."

Invest in people

While serving on the Madison Community Service Commission, Shinall said she could see a lot of effort being put into poor neighborhoods. But despite redevelopment efforts on behalf of areas like Allied Drive, she said little was likely to change.

"When I heard about these new apartments going in I thought that was great. The new Boys and Girls Club, that sounds great," she said. "But unless they do something for the people, unless they invest in the people, in five years it won't mean a thing."

So, two years ago Shinall put together a program to help people in the community follow a path of positive growth.

"We do a process called person-centered planning," she said. "And in person centered planning, we take a person and say, 'Here is your life and what it looks like now. Now let's dream. We're going to go to the North Star.' And at the North Star there's everything. We have money. We have education. We have everything we need. What would your life look like then?"

The idea Shinall said is to work backward from that image of life, as you most want it to be.

"We may not come up with everything," she said. "But we're going to get so close to that, that your life is really going to mirror what you want it to look like."

Teaching many skills

Through the 12-week program, MAP teaches its participants a variety of skills. They learn social talents like conflict resolution, language arts and self-awareness. They're exposed to the business world through financial management and how to set a budget. They also make plans for the future by learning how to prepare for college.

Felicia Greer was in the program in 2006. "At MAP I learned how to do a business plan. I learned how to journal," she said. "I learned how to believe in myself. That was the most important thing."

Now, Greer works out of her home as a referring travel agent. She books trips from her own Web site. Greer also has a catering business called Philly's Corner where she prepares meals for the nearby Madison police station and the Allied Drive Neighborhood Association.

Humbling experiences

At MAP, participants learn from area business leaders like Gary Gorman, CEO of the real estate development firm Gorman & Company.

"One of the things that strikes me when I go to talk to people in the class is the perceived divide between somebody that does what I do, versus where they perceive themselves to be. The divide is not that big," Gorman said. "I share some of the very humbling experiences that people have starting out, humbling experiences I've had. They identify with that. And my message to them is don't give up."

And that message is resonating. Enis Ragland, interim supervisor in the City of Madison Office of Community Services, said MAP performs a very important function.

"It's vital to the redevelopment of Allied Drive," Ragland said. "One of the things that we want to do is get people the skills they need to help rebuild the community."

Ragland said through MAP Shinall provides her participants with a reality check so they understand what's necessary to become productive members of society.

"She provides them with the skills they need to be qualified for gainful employment," Ragland said. "She has taken at least eight drug dealers from Allied Drive and has given them other opportunities to do something different that's worthwhile and productive."

Since 2006, MAP has graduated 68 participants. The city of Madison grants the organization $40,000 a year to provide valuable career development skills. But Shinall said the skills she teaches go beyond the workplace.

"We have people that have just become better parents. They've become role models," Shinall said. "I have so many graduates who live on Allied that have now become community leaders."

James Edward Mills is a Madison freelance writer.