A car battery is dead after a cold night. A kid is too sick to go to daycare. Many of us have experienced the frustration of trying to get to work or to an important appointment only to find out that the universe has other plans for us that particular day. For most of us, such misfortune means the start to a long day and a higher balance on our credit cards, but we can deal with it, grumble a bit, and move on.

Yet for a growing number of Coloradans who have nothing left after rent, groceries, and maybe a tank of gas, that single, unanticipated expense could mean the difference between finally getting ahead and perpetuating a cycle of financial instability.

A recent report from the Colorado Center on Law and Policy shows the much-touted economic recovery continues to leave important segments of our population behind: underemployment is a persistent reality for many who have unwillingly joined the ranks of the working poor; wages have remained largely stagnant for almost a decade even while rents continue to soar; and finally, even with historically low unemployment rates, nearly one in five working-age Coloradans are not employed.

As a member of Denver’s Workforce Development Board and president of the Spring Institute, an organization that provides education and skills to newly arrived immigrants and refugees, I know that good jobs are out there for those who have the skills and credentials to fill them.

However I also know that for populations with barriers – whether immigrants with limited English skills, young adults who lack their high school equivalency or single parents working two jobs to make ends meet – accessing and completing those skill-building services can remain just out of reach for a number of reasons beyond their control. A dead car battery or a last-minute child care expense can derail their opportunity to finish a course or even make it to a new job.

Indeed, there are dozens of good programs and organizations throughout our state that provide education, training, and coaching to help people step into in-demand jobs that can dramatically change their earning potential. But for a number of reasons, these initiatives often fall short in providing the wrap-around services that the main beneficiaries almost always need. Even when funds are available to a participant, programmatic constraints, the slow-moving nature of government programs, and a general resource shortage result in these services being provided  too late to be of help, or not at all.

Thankfully at the state legislature this year there is a proposal that would facilitate the provision of an emergency, low-cost, wrap-around service to a job-seeker or training participant. House Bill 1310, sponsored by Rep. James Coleman, D-Denver, would provide a last-resort financial resource to Coloradans with barriers who are working hard towards an employment or job-training goal, but need a quick and modest helping hand at a critical moment. Benefits are capped at $400 per person, per year, and can only be accessed if no other funding stream is available at that moment.

While HB 1310 isn’t the silver bullet to reversing some of the troubling trends we’ve observed in Colorado’s economy and labor force, it does ensure that those Coloradans actively pursuing employment or an in-demand skill don’t get derailed by a relatively low-dollar emergency expense. Considering that 46 percent of all Americans can’t cover a $400 emergency expense, HB 1310 is a justified and modest utilization of state resources.

At Spring Institute, we support the passage of HB 1310 so that they and others like them can receive a needed and relatively small amount of support they need to build a better life for themselves and their family. We encourage Coloradans and Colorado lawmakers to do the same.