THORTON

Thorton is the lead worker on Housing Forward’s Interim Housing Program sanitation crew. Every weekday, he supervises a crew of six workers to clean and sanitize the facility so that it will meet COVID-19 protocols. “The program participants clean their own rooms,” said Thorton. “But keeping the common areas of the building clean at all times keeps us very busy. When a person graduates from the program, our team sanitizes the room from top to bottom, to get it ready for the next resident.”

Thorton was one of the first people to enter our workforce development program when it was launched in October 2020. This new project was made possible through a Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership Disaster Relief Employment/Temporary Jobs grant to expand job opportunities for residents of Cook County who have become unemployed as a result of or during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to providing temporary employment, Housing Forward’s workforce development program focuses on helping participants build marketable job skills and support their permanent employment search. While participating in the program, participants also attend classes focused on conducting a job search and interviewing. 

Thorton takes great pride in his work. “I want to leave at the end of the day knowing that I’ve done my best. Some of the days are long and not always easy, but that’s not an excuse not to do my best.”