CareSource’s Life Coaches Help Members Find Jobs and More

If our members have a poor quality of life, they will likely have poor health, too. When they gain a steady job and economic stability, they also gain better access to health care, financial empowerment and, ultimately, self-sufficiency.

To that end, the CareSource Life Services® program is uniquely devoted to addressing the social determinants of our members’ health.

The centerpiece of CareSource Life Services is an ambitious and collaborative outreach called CareSource JobConnect™. Through CareSource JobConnect, our members are assigned life coaches who work with the participants on issues related to job search, employer access and support services. These coaches remain engaged for up to 24 months with the goal of fostering job retention and advancement. Meanwhile, the program’s “no wrong door” model connects our members to other community resources and programs, including education, food and nutrition, housing and transportation.

CareSource member David knows first-hand the impact the CareSource JobConnect program can make on his health and future. 

CareSource Member Mission Moment: David from CareSource on Vimeo.

David never envisioned his life’s path leading here. He grew up in a loving, stable family. He has fond childhood memories of playing with his three brothers and one sister. His oldest brother and he even vowed that they would open a barbershop together one day. But then he made a series of poor teenage decisions. He dropped out of high school, became a young father and even served jail time for felony charges. And his career dreams disappeared when he lost his barber license.

After all of that, in a final crippling blow, his eldest brother was tragically murdered. Sadly, this is the kind of story that CareSource encounters too often when working with populations who are often down on their luck. However, David’s story would not have an unhappy ending. Christina would help see to that.

Christina is David’s Life Coach through CareSource JobConnect. While he was battling all of this anger, grief and loss, she was the person who would not go away. She knew he was smart and capable of succeeding, but needed the right resources to steady his life. As their conversations progressed, they established goals and put David’s dreams onto paper.

They developed a life plan. And then they worked together to launch that plan into motion.

David’s unrelenting commitment to reach his goals led to the opportunity to share his story at a Senate briefing in Washington D.C. He says the moment was extremely important to him and his family. The presentation in D.C. even inspired him to open his own business.

Vice President @khvanzant (right) presents at Congressional Staff Briefing sponsored by @SenSherrodBrown. She’s a passionate advocate of addressing #SDOH to improve the well-being of Medicaid enrollees. pic.twitter.com/s8Suvmlya8

— CareSource (@caresource) September 20, 2019

Today, with the support of CareSource, David has regained his barber license and is surrounded by loving family members. Christina still works with him, especially as the world contends with COVID-19, which has impacted his family. However, the momentum that David created with CareSource’s support continues to push him forward. David is proud of the example he’s setting for his children now, while paying the respect to the special relationships that got him here.

“This program impacted me in a way that’s unreal. CareSource can help you rise above your circumstances,” David says. “I think my brother would be proud of the life I’ve made.”

This story was first published in the 2020 Annual Stakeholder Report.