Amens filled the conference room. Hugs and encouraging words were exchanged and prayers of thanksgiving and blessing were offered.

The congregants were sinners by anyone's definition and by their own admission. Former prostitutes and drug addicts mostly, the current class at Roswell's Every Woman Works program will challenge the group's own moniker.

If Every Woman Works really works, then Vera Moore will find a job, even though the 52-year-old Las Vegas transplant has spent as much of her adult life in prison as in the free world.

If you were a bettor, you'd do well to wager on her finding work, because dozens just like her have been employed because of the faith-based nonprofit program.

Retired businesswoman Tillie O'Neal-Kyles founded Every Woman Works three years ago to provide skills, love and lessons for women who seem unemployable. She spent 35 years in corporate work, 15 of those years in engineering and more than 20 years in adult education and training.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a less successful collection of women in one room. Most were referred to the program by the Mary Hall Freedom House addiction recovery center in Roswell or the Division of Family and Children's Services.

By the time Miss Tillie —- calling her anything else just won't do —- and her staff are done with these women, retailers and discount stores who are learning to trust Every Woman Works will take a chance.

About half the organization's budget is paid by agencies that send clients there, about 25 percent comes from state grants and the remainder comes from private donations.

For eight weeks, the 15 women will be taught —- or maybe re-taught —- how to dress appropriately, how to create a resume, how to be on time and how to interview.

They'll be taught that they can be somebody, that they have worth and that their past is in the past. They'll be invited into the group's clothes closet, where they can dress for success. They buy jewelry and other niceties when they earn Bee Bucks. The bumblebee is the organization's mascot because with its fat body and tiny wings, it's the perfect example of beating the odds.

The program is equal parts skills training and esteem building. The women are taught to own their futures and accept that their own bad choices contributed to their situations.

"Who I was? I was a liar, a thief, a prostitute and a Jezebel," said Moore, introducing herself to the new classmates. "Who I am is a child of God, and I talk about it and get it off my chest."

Tears flow as new attendees introduce themselves.

"I'm Rachel, a 29-year-old mother of two; I've put three up for adoption, am a survivor of domestic violence," Rachel said. "My current husband is four months clean in rehab and I'm in recovery four years."

Lisa Palmer is one of Every Woman Works' many success stories.

She wasn't a drug addict or sent by DFCS. She'd just never been a good worker and found herself nine months unemployed with three kids to raise.

"I was talking to some friends about not being able to find a job and being afraid I'd lose my house and car," she said. "Someone told me I should call Miss Tillie.

"She gave me a scholarship, and I learned about handling myself on interviews, dressing right, completing applications, but those were skills I already had. For me, the important things were more about self-esteem and the spiritual side. I needed to learn the importance of doing well on the job every day, that I could be proud of my work and myself for doing a good job."

Upon graduating, Palmer, now 43, got a job as an administrative assistant. She's had the same job three years, a record for her.

"It's the best job I've ever had, more money than I've ever gotten, benefits, health insurance for my family, paid time off. I feel like a productive part of society, that I can be proud of things I put my name on."

Two of Palmer's kids are now in college and one is in high school.

And Miss Tillie couldn't be prouder.

"What does success look like for us?" Miss Tillie asked. "It's getting jobs for women, but it's more about moving them from dependency to self-sufficiency. But you've got to have a job to have any independence."