The vicious cycle.

*Vince has skills. For the better part of three decades he worked in several Portland restaurants. He went to culinary school for a while but eventually quit so he could garner more on the job experience. He learned everything from how to prep a kitchen and plan a menu to the art of managing a staff and the whole of the kitchen. He loved his job and was good at it.

Fast forward 10 years and you would be hard pressed to recognize Vince. He appears older than his 56 years. He needs dental work and he gave up shaving quite a few years ago. He has lost weight and fidgets a little when he gets too uncomfortable. But there is something about his eyes.

They are steel gray, and they seem conflicted. They appear muted and a person call tell they have seen much: A foreclosure and a chemical dependency issue. The death of his spouce and unemployment. Over ten years of homelessness.

But then, every now and again, they flicker and resonate with the sparkle they held in his younger days. He remembers his days working at various restaurants and he knows that he still has some things to offer. He is sober and industrious and wants to make a clean start but there is a monster looming on his horizon that seems unable to be vanquished: His resume is a bit lacking.

After bouncing around Portland he left Oregon for the Flathead Valley in 2001. These were amongst his darkest days and he battled every day just to find a reason to wake up the next morning. He took jobs as a dishwasher and janitor in the very types of restaurants he might have managed in his old life.

Vince has chosen to make some changes and has been sober for nearly 3 years although he has not worked for more than five. He is at a place in his life where he now feels like he is hireable and will be a good and reliable employee. He wants to work but has difficulty even landing an interview for a job that many people would turn their nose at. Some estimates say that there are nearly 100 applications for most job openings. Without a resume and credible, updated references, Vince faces a daunting task in the hunt for gainful, honorable employment.

Sometimes people just need a chance.

*Not his real name.