More Info
Sign-ups for A New Life end Friday, Jan. 20. The two-day career prep and job fair is Jan. 26-27 at Eastgate Town Center. Career prep attendance is required to participate in the job fair. Lunch will be provided. Those interested can call 643-6702 to learn more or sign up.
For the more than 2.3 million inmates nationwide - 57,000 of whom are in Tennessee - finding employment upon release is no simple feat.
According to a recent survey by the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, 76 percent of former inmates reported it was difficult or impossible, and nearly two-thirds of those polled were still unemployed or underemployed five years after release.
A new pilot initiative by the Chattanooga Office of Multicultural Affairs, Tennessee Department of Labor and nonprofit Father to the Fatherless is aiming to change that. A New Life, a two-day event featuring a training day and a job fair, will connect former felons with area businesses.
The unemployment problem is multifaceted, said Multicultural Office Community Outreach Specialist Deborah Maddox.
"They don't have ways to take care of their families and responsibilities because they are pretty much blackballed when seeking employment," she said.
Additionally, many have never been taught how to create a resume that doesn't show the gaps in employment that come with incarceration. Others don't know to create a resume at all, said Maddox.
"There are just some people who don't know that those first impressions really are meaningful," she said. "They have a very important position in whether or not they are considered [for a job]. People say 'I need a job, I need a job, I need a job,' but you don't just need a job; you need this other information as well so you can be a responsible member of society."
Those who sign up for A New Life will receive a day of one-on-one resume-building help, skills training, a haircut and an outfit for interviews. Participants will also leave with a new email address which has been registered with Jobs for Tennessee, which will notify them of all new job postings for which they are qualified.
The second day, a four-hour job fair will connect eager workers with potential employers. Then, workers with Father to the Fatherless will follow up to see how each participant is doing and whether he or she has found employment.
Should the program prove to be a success, it could be replicated not only locally, but on a larger scale, said Maddox.
According to a 2010 study by the Center for Economic Policy and Research, unemployment rates of convicted felons cost the U.S. economy anywhere from $57 billion to $65 billion in lost output.
"We want to assist them in every way," Maddox said. " We've got to put a dent in this somewhere. This is what's needed to support all of the community. They're part of the community as well."
Email Gabrielle Chevalier at gchevalier@timesfreepress.com.