Elpis Enterprises

Programs: Elpis enterprises operate three social enterprises to provide a paid work experience and employment readiness training to young people between 16 and 23 years of age who are homeless or have unstable housing. They come to elpis with little or no work experience. They leave elpis with the skills needed to obtain and retain employment in any work setting. Our three social enterprises are: 1)a full-service customized screen printing business; 2) a woodworking business and 3) an e-commerce site that allows users to design their own product or purchase one of several ready-made products that supports elpis and other twin cities nonprofits. We worked with 21 trainees in 2017. Among trainees completing our program: 86% gained full or part-time employment paying above the miminum hourly wage. 90% demonstrated an improved ability to respond to supervision and work as part of a team. 90% demonstrated an improved understanding of workplace culture, policy, and safety. 85% reported improved confidence in their ability to mentor other young people. 88% would recommend our program to other youth. In 2017, we made significant strides in building our organizational capacity to provide an impactful experience to the yound people we serve. For example, by fall 2017: 100% of trainees were spending two to three hours per week on developing and pursuing post-elpis immediate employment and/or long term career opportunities and related educational needs. This increased from last year as a result of having a career counselor on site for 32 hours a week who focuses solely on working with trainees on their post-elpis plans. 100% of funds needed to purchase our first automated screen printing press were secured through grants. In addition to providing trainees with experience in automation, it will anable elpis to: a)offer new products, which provide more opportunities for trainees to develop marketing, sales and customer service skills and documented work experience in these areas; and b) increase production capacity, enabling trainees to spend more time and gain experience in the non-production aspects of operating a small business.