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Earlier this year, the Brookings Institution released an expansive global report that tracks whether or not the world’s 300 largest metropolitan areas have recovered from the recession, and ranks each one’s growth. It’s an interesting set of data: China boasts 15 of the 20 best-performing metro areas, and the United States’ first appearance on the list is Austin, at 65th place. Though not all of the populations that we here at National Able Network serve live nearest these large metro areas, their economies have an enormous impact throughout our service area.

I wanted to take a closer look at the connection between the economic performance of one of the country’s largest metro areas – Boston – and compare that to the experiences of our clients in Massachusetts. To do that, I turned to our expert on the ground: the State Director of National Senior Network in Massachusetts, Susan Jepson.

According to the Brookings monitor rankings, Boston has recovered from the recession, but only marginally. The region’s economic growth has only been 1.4 percent per capita since the end of the recession, and employment has only grown by 1.3 percent. This puts Boston in 149th place, right at the median of the 300 metros studied.

I asked Susan to take a look at those numbers and share with me what things look like on the ground, in the lives of our clients. She had this to say:

“I think our work is more about people’s stories than statistics and poll results.  Yes, it is good news that the economy is improving, that there are more jobs and that the unemployment rate is lower than it has been in years. Positive indicators provide a good boost to moods, job search efforts and in fact positively impact outcomes, with more people finding jobs.

“Those positive outcomes are the stories of some of our clients.  But sometimes our clients’ stories run on a parallel track, never intersecting with the benefits the recovering economy holds. For many reasons, tickets to the train on this ‘recovering economy track’ are not so available to them. They might see the good news from afar and lose hope and self-confidence, wondering why they can’t seem to find work where others can. We seek to bring recovery and self-sufficiency to as many people as possible by using our clients’ assets, our resources, our own resilience tools, and good knowledge and training.”

Susan also identified six of these primary resources and tools in effort to serve clients in need:

1. Support and help clients learn new and effective job search skills.
2. Help clients develop realistic job goals based on their skills, resources, and situations.
3. Introduce clients to information that can help them understand and succeed in the workplace of 2015, including basic computer training, training and discussions about diversity, and information about working with individuals of all ages and backgrounds.
4. Train clients in a process involving more than just imparting information – respect the experience and assets clients already have and give them an arena for practicing new behaviors, habits, and skills.
5. Support solution-finding for client challenges, including health barriers, family needs, and workplace skills.

6. Work alongside the existing safety net to ensure that most-in-need clients are afforded the best opportunities for success.

With priorities like these, we work to bring economic prosperity to those who may be otherwise excluded from a recovering or productive economy. Thanks to the efforts of Susan and nonprofit professionals like her within our agency as well as those across the nation, thousands upon thousands of individuals in need find success in education, employment, and other opportunities each year.

Stay tuned for our next installment of the Navigating the Uneven Recovery series where we focus on Chicago!