And when, after living in a rehab house for almost three years, it came time to find a job and get out on her own, she found the help she needed by turning to God again—this time through the Dallas Christian Women's Job Corps.

"I hadn't worked in 12-and-a-half years and my self esteem was at an all time low." said Sheila, 44, "The job corps made me realize that I do have value and they helped me build my self esteem and be more confident in myself."

Delores Kube, the job corps' director, said that's exactly why she helped start a local version of the Alabama-based program three years ago.

I've been involved in ministry in Dallas for 40 years and through the years I've seen a continuing need for [work] skills acquisition," she said. "This program addresses a significant need."

"The purpose of CWJC is to provide a Christian context in which women in need are equipped for life and employment and a missions context in which women help women."

Since its start, the corps has provided life skills and job readiness training to about 20 women—including Sheila, who completed the program two years ago and was able to land a job with a Dallas furniture company scheduling delivery appointments.

"It was what I needed," said Sheila, who chose this particular job-training program because of its basis in Christian faith. "I couldn't have quit doing drugs without God and through him I was then able to realize that I did have value."

But the most important aspect of the program, according to Mrs. Kube, is the mentoring. It's such a vital part of the program, that a one-year commitment is required from both the client and the volunteer."

"That's the heart of CWJC," she said. "We partner a volunteer with a client and it's that relationship that makes a difference."

Since it's inception in 1988, the job corps has provided a Christian environment in which women from all walks of life can gain work readiness, life skills and self-esteem.

The many women who have participated in the job corps say the program's unique approach of placing each women with a Christian mentor has helped them become productive and independent workers and enabled them to develop stronger family ties and personal relationships.

The job corps is open to any woman in Dallas and Rockwall counties, regardless of her religious background, who desires the necessary skills and encouragement to achieve success and self-sufficiency.

"Our purpose is to provide a Christian context in which women in need are equipped for life and employment," says Delores Kube, one of the founders and executive director of the Dallas Christian Women's Job Corps. " We also provide a missions context in which women help women."

Women are referred to the program through churches and various community agencies, including the Exodus Ministry, the Texas Workforce Commission and the Texas Rehabilitation Commission, and by word of mouth.

The Dallas Christian Women's Job Corps is a faith-based ministry of the Woman's Missionary Union and Dallas-area churches funded in part by the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions. The program is run entirely by volunteers.

The Dallas branch of the Christian Women's Job Corps was founded in 1998 by Ms. Kube and other volunteers, who set up headquarters in the Cornerstone Baptist Church in South Dallas. Slowly, the program has grown as word of its success has spread.

Today, the administrative offices are located at 2918 Oates Drive, Dallas, Texas.

"We help women who need assistance for many different reasons," says Ms. Kube. "Some are single mothers with limited job skills, some are women recovering from drug and alcohol abuse, some are older women who, because of divorce or the death of a spouse, are entering the workforce for the first time or returning after many years. Some of the women we help are victims of domestic violence."

The program uses a three-tier approach: training; mentoring; and networking.