The Applicant Concierge Experience (ACE) is designed to allow employers to focus on their core business operations while Joblio provides new hires with wraparound services to overcome language, transportation, housing and other barriers.
While Good Carbon Community, LLC recently utilized Joblio’s services to hire three New Americans, the development company has also become a valuable partner in helping immigrants and refugees find a place to live in Buffalo, N.Y.
“We are pleased and really humbled to be a solution for housing, which up until we came in was a challenge for them,” says Mike Attea, Good Carbon Community director of property management. “That’s the business: See an opportunity, see a need and try to solve someone else’s pain points.”
Refugees typically arrive in the United States lacking the background information, including employment and credit history, that landlords seek. This makes it difficult for refugees to secure housing, Mike says. But because of the established employer-employee relationship with Good Carbon, Mike has been able to secure housing for refugees working with Joblio.
Mike searched through Good Carbon’s portfolio of properties that are located near all the key features for refugees – such as bus lines, grocery stores and banks – and found several multi-family apartment buildings in Western New York that fit the criteria.
Joblio U.S. Country Manager & VP of Government Affairs Mark Reimann was sold as soon as he walked through the properties, and a local settlement agency did a deeper assessment for safety and cleanliness.
“It was a home run,” says Mike, adding that there are other properties throughout the Buffalo area, the surrounding suburbs and in the Southern Tier that could be good fits in the future. “We’re being as hands-on as possible, because we see a local opportunity to make a difference, and if it grows, we’d be happy to see that expand.”
Four people have already moved into Good Carbon Community managed properties – with more on the way as they wait for their paperwork to clear. Each apartment unit came fully furnished with beds, TVs in each bedroom, sofas, coffee makers, kitchenware, Internet and more. Settlement agency partners also provided starter kits with bed sheets, cleaning supplies and toothpaste, among other household items.
“Those little things make a difference,” Mike says. “We expect to house someone from every continent under one of our roofs. I’m hoping it leads to something that’s truly impactful for the Western New York community.”