After almost a year of preparation, the Evanston chapter of National Student Partnerships on Tuesday opened the doors of an office that will help community members find better jobs.

The One-Stop Employment and Training Center, 1615 Oak St., is a comprehensive social service organization that will focus on helping local low-income and unemployed residents navigate the often complicated world of public assistance and job hunting, organizers said.

“The goal is to remove barriers to employment to low-income and welfare recipients and offer hands-on volunteering opportunities for students,” said Carrie Chefas, NSP local internal director.

National Student Partnerships was founded by a group of Yale students in response to 1996 welfare reform legislation. The organization has since spread to college campuses along the East Coast as well as to Texas and Utah.

Emphasizing the one-on-one relationships they hope to build with clients in Evanston, local organizers said they would divide their efforts between helping people find jobs and connecting them with a variety of social services, including health care, transportation, housing, food, education and child care.

Students will work in three-person teams and stay in contact with individual local clients for up to two years, organizers said.

Although she expressed some anxiety, Chefas said the volunteers were excited about the prospect of finally working face-to-face with clients after a year of planning. She said she didn’t know how many people would find their way to the new NSP office Tuesday, but she expects to be very busy soon.

Medill senior Katarzyna Lyson, who has worked with NSP for almost a year, said the organization’s biggest challenge will be to make people aware of the services and simplifying the process.

Founders Alexis Vanderhye and Marni Weil, who heard about the organization through word of mouth, spent last year researching and contacting local social service providers, compiling a database and recruiting. Student volunteers will now use the database and the contacts with local agencies to streamline clients’ searches for services.

Students also will try to help clients find employment by networking with local businesses and providing assistance with writing resumés, preparing for interviews and translating applications.

“People don’t want to be unemployed,” said Candace Otto, NSP local external director. “They want to have jobs, but sometimes they lack the resources and the networking to do it.”

Otto, a Speech junior, coordinates with the NSP headquarters in Washington, D.C., which funds a substantial amount of the Evanston branch’s operations.

“They do the fund raising and guide us along the way,” she said.

Otto said the organization’s location should encourage clients to stop by. She said organizers were thrilled by landing an office in the One-Stop, as finding adequate office space has been an obstacle for many NSP chapters.

State Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Evanston) helped students secure the One-Stop location.

“She’s really been instrumental,” Lyson said. “We just knocked on her door (and she offered to help).”

Other government officials and agencies also have been helpful in getting Evanston NSP off the ground, Lyson said.

With office space secured and databases compiled, students now face the task of working hands-on with clients.

“We don’t pretend to be social workers. We don’t pretend to be psychologists,” said Chefas, acknowledging the challenge of the endeavor.

Chefas said volunteers will mostly stick to their strengths. For example, students will be primarily helpful with research.

Seeking to at least double the number of volunteers, organizers are planning information sessions at 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday in Harris Hall 104.

“There are a lot of philanthropic organizations on campus, but very few of them offer direct service opportunities,” Lyson said.

Although the office has opened, Chefas said the organization still faces challenges.

“I know we’re going to be successful, but it might not be tomorrow,” she said. “It might be in three months when we iron out all the wrinkles.”