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Dear Yolanda:

I am writing to express my interest in the Discharge Planner position. I believe that my skills and experience would make me a qualified candidate.

In my social service experience, I have worked with diverse groups such as at-risk youths, the criminal justice population, and those living with HIV/AIDS. Working with each of these communities, I have encountered unique challenges which provided me the opportunity to grow and effectively provide services. I demonstrated the ability to listen and communicate with people on all educational levels and showed sensitivity towards cultural differences.

At the New York State Department of Corrections (DOC), I worked with at-risk youth to help them identify behavior patterns. I dealt with challenging situations such as rebellious or dismissive teens who rejected participating in the Youth Assistance Program. In order to effectively communicate, I had to listen while also demonstrating strong boundaries. Our program collected personal information about our clients. I gained their trust by explaining why we needed this information and how it would be used. I worked well with all nine staff members.

Prior to my role as a facilitator at DOC, I worked as a Transitional Service Coordinator. I assisted clients with their job search preparedness by teaching how to decode the classified section of a newspaper and by facilitating groups with their search for employment based on their experience, skills and qualifications. I also taught courses to groups of 16 – 18 clients on job interviewing and obtaining RAP sheets.

I also interned at the Fortune Society with a program that matches our clients, all of whom have a criminal justice background, to subsidized internships in their field of interest. I kept track of all interns who were placed with employers, start dates, end dates, schedules, and salaries. Every two weeks, I collected timesheets from employers and distributed paychecks to interns. I organized and filed personal data, scheduled meetings between applicants and my supervisor and entered case notes into our database. We built strong working relationships between interns and employers as well as with the judicial system (parole officers, probation officers and etc).

As a client of College Initiative, a program at Fortune Society, I give back to the program and incoming students by volunteering to mentor participants and encourage them to enroll and stay focused on academic goals within school. Before mentoring, I volunteered to speak with students in groups of 8 -11 about my active college life and my journey here, explaining the importance of course requirements and time management. I advised incoming students, those who may qualify for financial aid about utilizing and managing their financial aid dollars.

In August 2008, I received a certificate for HIV/AIDS Peer Educator training from The Northern Regional Center for Independent Living (NRCL). I earned this certificate by demonstrating my knowledge of HIV/AIDS during a presentation on mother to child transmission. After graduating, I taught groups of 15 to 20 people about prevention, high risk and low risk body fluids, risky behaviors, HIV’s effects on the immune system, testing methods, medications, and living with HIV/AIDS. During these presentations I used visual aids such as flip charts, white boards and chalk boards as well as handouts.

I would welcome the opportunity to meet you in person to learn more about your program.

I can be reached at (646) 657-7436.

All the Best,
David Gaskin