Genesee - Heather Green of the “God’s Love Foundation” in Linden reached out to Roy Reynolds, a BSP at GST Michigan Works! of Fenton on October 17th, 2022, regarding a gentleman by the name of John Nelson.

John Nelson and his family have been through a lot this holiday season. The family fell on hard times and was struggling to make much needed repairs to their home. "I got into a situation, and I was struggling," John Nelson said. "I have always been the type of guy that sucks it up and gets it done. That’s what I was trying to do." When home living conditions started affecting the kids at school, a school resource officer reached out and connected the Nelson family with FARR -- Fenton Area Resources and Referral Network. "They were going to condemn the house," said Executive Director Dawn Placek. "The city worked with us, and all kinds of organizations stepped up. There are so many people out there who want to help. That is what community is about."

The entire house is being renovated. Donations and volunteers have stepped up to make all of this happen. John Nelson is thankful and grateful that his family has a safe place to live. The family is staying at a hotel while renovations are being completed. They hope to have it finished in time for Christmas.

Roy Reynolds and his team in Fenton invited John Nelson into the office to start coaching and working with him immediately. GST Michigan Works! Career Coaches Sue Hughes and Veronica Crespo helped John build a resume that would promote himself better, while trying to find an employer closer to home.

The next step was trying to find the right employer for John. John wanted to stay in a Dietary/Food Director position with a nursing home community where he can grow and build new relationships with an Employer that would ideally be as close to home as possible.

On December 7th, Roy Reynolds stopped into Vicinia Gardens, one of the largest nursing home communities here in Fenton. He left John Nelson’s resume for Diane Luft who is the Organizational Development Manager at Vicinia and said, “If you’re looking for a Dietary/Food Director, John Nelson would be a great candidate.”

A few days later John received a call from Dianea at Vicinia Gardens regarding his resume and the Dietary/Food Director position that they had available. Vicinia scheduled an interview with John for December 14th. On Friday December 16th, John received word from Diane Luft that he was being offered the position. John accepted the position with Vicinia and was thrilled he would be working as the Dietary/Food Director for a great nursing community only a few miles from his home!

GST Michigan Works! in Fenton went one step further for John after hearing he had accepted the position at Vicinia. When starting a new job, who doesn’t love to have some new clothes to wear to work? Using resources that GST Michigan Works! can offer, the team was able to help John purchase some new work clothes for when he starts at Vicinia Gardens on January 2nd of 2023.

John is very grateful for the team at GST Michigan Works! and everything they did to help him get to this opportunity and closer to home!