{"id":68159,"date":"2025-11-24T21:43:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T21:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/68159\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T21:43:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T21:43:11","slug":"dymonds-breakthrough-and-the-long-beach-program-that-helped-power-it-brand-stories-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/68159\/","title":{"rendered":"Dymond\u2019s Breakthrough \u2014 and the Long Beach Program That Helped Power It \u2022 Brand stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part of Building the Future Here, a sponsored series of stories, resources, and experiences made possible by the organizations and businesses shaping Long Beach\u2019s tomorrow. This content was produced independently of the Long Beach Post newsroom, which was not involved in its creation.<\/p>\n

For over a year, Dymond Bell held things together by bouncing between shelters and friends\u2019 couches, all while navigating a fragmented web of services on her own after aging out of the foster care system. Her housing situation became even more precarious in August, when the 22-year-old found herself living in an abandoned car.<\/p>\n

With nowhere to go \u2014 and no family to help pay rent or basic necessities \u2014 she turned to the Long Beach Multi-Service Center, a resource hub for people experiencing homelessness. She was soon connected with Merge Opportunities, a Long Beach nonprofit that provides job placement and career- and life-skills training for young adults aged 18 to 28, like Bell.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead of placing Bell in a job for another company or agency, Merge hired her directly as a paid intern, recognizing her drive and readiness to grow.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many young adults like Bell who don\u2019t have an advocate, and don\u2019t have access to opportunities to build the skills necessary to thrive in the workplace,\u201d said Erin Earlywine, CEO of Merge Opportunities. \u201cWe saw a huge need and knew we could do something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tWhy Workforce Support Changes Futures\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

For young adults like Dymond, a good job can mark the start of an entirely different future.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEarly unemployment leaves a lasting \u201cscarring effect\u201d<\/a> on lifetime earnings, harming the individual and the broader economy. Timely access to work and training can narrow that long-term earnings gap.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Earlywine and others at Merge know that they must address the \u201cwhole person,\u201d including housing, food and transportation \u2014 and that they need strong partnerships with government agencies and other nonprofits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When the recent government shutdown temporarily halted Bell\u2019s food benefits, Earlywine tapped into her own community network for help. She reached out to her group of Wilson High School water polo moms, and together they brought fresh groceries and kitchen essentials \u2014 including a Crock-Pot \u2014 to Bell\u2019s housing complex. It was a community-driven gesture that reflects the kind of support Merge weaves into its career pathways work.<\/p>\n

Merge Opportunities staff convene in the organization\u2019s conference room for a team meeting. Left to right: Kevin Somo, Haben Berhe, Ricky Gonzalez, Dymond Bell, and Erin Earlywine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like so many things in my life have been a struggle, and I finally got a break and found people who really cared\u2026Ever since I\u2019ve been here, I\u2019ve been thriving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dymond Bell, Paid Intern, Merge Opportunities<\/p>\n

Merge was founded in April 2022 by Earlywine\u2019s husband, Barry Vince, president of Motive Workforce Solutions, a staffing agency that specializes in engineering, aerospace, alternative energy and other industries that need employees with niche skills. Over the past three years, Merge has placed nearly 300 young adults in well-paying jobs \u2014 and helps keep them in those jobs with support both before and after clients begin working.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With over 30 years of recruiting experience and a personal journey in recovery, Vince envisioned Merge as an opportunity to leverage his professional network and partnerships to open doors for those facing systemic barriers to employment.<\/p>\n

Many clients like Bell are former foster youth, but Merge also serves those who are justice-impacted, recovering from substance use challenges, veterans, and those in underserved and under-resourced areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The nonprofit has formed partnerships with nearly three dozen agencies and community organizations, who refer hundreds of clients for help with career training and placement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Merge starts by guiding individuals through career exploration and development of needed skills, then assists with resume writing, networking, interviewing, public speaking and personal presentation to potential employers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The nonprofit, with a post-placement retention rate of 78%, also nurtures and supports employed clients through coaches, mentors and ongoing training.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tWhen a Paycheck Becomes a Gateway Wage\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

For many young adults, the first decent wage can be the difference between constantly juggling bills and finally getting a bit of breathing room.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMerge\u2019s average $21\/hr moves participants toward the local living-wage threshold,<\/a>\u00a0giving them a clearer runway past the \u201cbenefits cliff\u201d \u2014 the point when a small earnings increase can suddenly reduce or cut off key public benefits.Translation: fewer trade-offs between rent, food and transit mean higher retention for employers.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The average pay for those who complete Merge\u2019s program is $21 an hour, well above the state minimum wage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beyond pay, however, Bell says she has new hope for her future. She believes she can succeed in a respected field and that her work will meaningfully help others with a similar background.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe I got this chance,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like so many things in my life have been a struggle, and I finally got a break and found people who really cared.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She credits Earlywine and others, including program director Haben Berhe, for helping her learn new skills like Microsoft Excel, data processing, writing and office management.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEver since I\u2019ve been here, I\u2019ve been thriving,\u201d Bell said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The impact of Merge\u2019s work has already been recognized. The Stars & Stripes Children\u2019s Foundation, which raises large sums for nonprofits that serve youth and young adults, named Merge an honorary charity in 2024. The foundation provided the initial funding that allowed Merge to get off the ground, and this year their continued support helped Merge triple both its funding and its impact, opening an even wider set of opportunities for young adults like Bell.<\/p>\n

Business partners benefit from having a resource like Merge with a steady pipeline of job-ready candidates who are motivated to build long-term careers. Some of the placement opportunities have come from firms in the solar and environmental fields, as well as service industries, warehousing and other jobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Merge recently launched its JobRaiser campaign, asking companies this season to donate jobs and offer introductions to employers for youth in need. If you know an employer, HR contact or a \u201cfriend of a friend\u201d who may be hiring, get in touch.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery introduction has the power to change a life,\u201d Earlywine said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Part of Building the Future Here, a sponsored series of stories, resources, and experiences made possible by the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67737,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132,40258],"class_list":["post-68159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-merge-opportunities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}