An upcoming resource fair in Henderson may be just the spot to learn about services available to help people who are recently released from prison.
The Kerr-Tar Re-Entry Roundtable is scheduled for Wednesday, April 21 at the Aycock Recreation Center, 307 Carey Chapel Road. The event will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is designed to provide resources to individuals or family members who need to find ways to help loved ones have a successful return to their community after they have served their sentences in correctional facilities.
James Johnson, program director for the Raleigh-based Family Resource Center South Atlantic, and Desiree Brooks, business services manager for the Kerr-Tar workforce development board, discussed the upcoming event with John C. Rose on Monday’s Town Talk.
Brooks and Johnson said the resource fair is designed for anyone recently released from prison who may need help getting back on their feet, from finding a place to live to getting help finding a job.
“We really want to help,” Johnson said, adding that this is one way to show those with prison records that there is hope for life after prison. “We’re going help you get to where you need to go,” he added.
There’s no need to make an appointment – just go to Aycock Recreation Center to learn about available resources. Lunch also will be provided to all participants.
Johnson’s program can start helping people as much as six months before they are released from prison. Family members can provide basic information to get the process started so there is a support system in place when the prisoner is released.
Brooks said participants also can learn about job opportunities from the Kerr-Tar workforce development resource table.
“We’ll be able to talk to people and let them know about employers that are willing to give them that second chance.” She said there are many employers in the five-county region Kerr-Tar serves that “are re-entry friendly and believe in second chances.”
Johnson’s program, funded by the N.C. Department of Labor, can help with things like purchasing work clothes, as well as paying for CDL certification and OSHA certification through partnerships with Vance-Granville Community College.
“Whatever it takes to get you self-sufficient,” Johnson said, is what he and his program are prepared to do. “We meet you where you are — we understand some people aren’t where they want to be yet, but we’ll meet you there.”
Visit www.kerrtarworks.com to learn more or call 252.438.6129.
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