Hope Job Support Ministry began as a mission of founder Pat Harrington, of Ooltewah, to help the growing unemployed in the area.
"Its about bringing hope to the hopeless," she said. "I encourage them, walk with them and pray with them before interviews."
Hope Job Support Ministry founder Pat Harrington hopes to inspire churches to join in the ministry so it can continue.Since starting the ministry in May of 2010, she hoped to find ministry partners to keep the doors open. So far she is still looking and must have partners by the end of October in order to keep the ministry going strong.
"The need is too great for one person to do it," said Harrington, who has served more than 345 unemployed people in the last year and a half on her own. "My main focus is to work with churches to try to get churches to start a jobs ministry. The mission of Hope Job Support Ministry is to bring others close to Christ by walking with them through the trials of unemployment."
She said professionals just spending 15 minutes per month encouraging a job seeker by phone would help. Although she goes over resume building and writing and how to market oneself in one-on-one meetings, providing emotional support and keeping job-seekers motivated and giving them strategies to achieve employment is a big part of the ministry.
"It's not just about a job. People are broken when they lose their jobs," said Harrington, who experienced this on a personal level while unemployed in Chicago for 18 months in 2006. "If they don't have faith, they don't know where to turn. I saw the pain that people go through and lived it. When I came to Chattanooga, I realized there were no jobs support ministries and I decided to start one."
She said job loss is hitting people over age 50 that have raised their children, paid for their college and now find themselves unemployed. Like her, they are often considered overqualified for many of the jobs available.
According to Harrington, about 22,000 people in the Chattanooga area need jobs. Unemployment checks stop after two and a half years.
"It hits a lot of people," she said. "A lot of churches have benevolence funds for people getting their power cut off. If you could help them improve their skills, they won't come back every month to get money."