Peace vs. chaos

Today 1,500 employees of the West Penn Hospital system received confirmation their jobs were being eliminated as a cost cutting measure. Administration may have said, "it's not personal," while handing out the pink slips, but as we all know it is definitely personal to each individual affected by job loss or change. Everything changes as we know it, the immediate things are income, medical coverage, and pensions; but the emotional side of our selves changes too. We may feel a sense of grief, losing something that was important to our existence, something that made us feel that we had a purpose or that we were making a difference in our little piece of the world. Health care is like no other field, despite the chaos, stress and loss of life; these dedicated employees are committed to the welfare and healing of the patients, the mission of the hospital, and to the community that makes up teams of people dependent on each other to get the job done. From the maintenance staff to the physicians, each person contributes their gifts and talents for the greater good.

It may difficult to find any peace in this time of chaos, but hopefully most will discover their inner peace through this journey. Peace is between you and God and can only be discovered within. When the time comes that you discover that peace within yourself, remember all that you have experienced in your life and all that you have accomplished. Remind yourself as a job seeker that you needed all of those experiences to help you become the person you were always meant to be. Take this time to discover new things about yourself and connect with other job seekers, find support emotional and spiritual, and remember there is HOPE.




Anyone who has become a HOPE participant knows that "hope" is only a phone call or email away.

Discover HOPE Success Story

Bill Lonett landed a position as Business Development Officer at Fifth Third Bank where he is in the Business Banking Group. He found the position through networking. Bill contacted a previous Mellon colleague who has been a Fifth Third Bank employee for over five years and knew about the position. He thanked the Discover HOPE team for their support and direction and he generously offered his support for the future. Please include Bill in your networking, LinkedIn, and look for him at upcoming HOPE workshops! Congratulations, Bill! We wish you success!

HOPE Inspiration

Affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
~ Romans 5:3-5

You are not the only one

From the secretarial pool to the Vice President level, no one is immune to job loss in this difficult economy. I was one of those people who didn't have a clue what to do after those fateful words, "it's not personal, your job has been eliminated, turn in your ID and leave the building." It was so abrupt and very personal to me. A million thoughts raced through my mind, as I drove away from the parking lot, the most important was the reality I would have no income in two weeks. On the way home, I had convinced myself that finding a new job would be easy, it always had been, I was great at what I did. After filing for unemployment, I was shocked by the realization it wasn't easy anymore. Things had changed in the past few years and I needed help. I had no one to seek advice from. I struggled on my own for several months writing and rewriting my resume, wondering what to include and what not to include; how to network myself, assessing my skills and then struggling to find my faith in this process. I felt alone like there was no one else in the world who was experiencing the emotional roller coaster I was on.After a great deal of reflection, I began to look beyond myself and my situation and use my skills to create a organization to help others find the resources needed to acquire a new career. Discover HOPE Here was born!