On June 23, Williamsport District's Community Reentry Parole Agent Amy Ramiza facilitated an in-person reentrant employment group with help from The Link, CareerLink's Mobile Office. The Link was parked in Sunbury, and CareerLink staff Robert Eddy and Craig Kurtz were available to help reentrants who were struggling with joblessness.
The Link staff has been providing employment resources to local SCI's (Muncy, Coal Township and Rockview) for years, but this was the first initiative involving parole reentrants who are residing in the community.
Reentrants who are local residents, and who have been struggling with unemployment issues, were referred to the group from their field agent, Agent Matt Kieski, and scheduled for attendance by Ramiza.
Also in attendance the day of the event were Parole Manager Penny Sines and Megan Bair, operations manager with PA CareerLink. All COVID-19 precautions were observed and followed, reentrant arrival times were staggered and all surfaces were sanitized after each participant left.
The reentrants were each given documents to explain programs which help people who have criminal records become eligible for and maintain steady employment. The reentrants were also provided with sample cover letters and professional statements that help tackle the issue of their criminal past.
The CareerLink staff was able to improve the resumes of the reentrants to include any skill or certifications that they received while serving their state sentences. The staff also helped with local job searches that the reentrants were qualified for and explained how the reentrants can utilize the CareerLink website on their own for job searching practices. Each reentrant will be contacted by Ramiza in the coming weeks for continued help in securing employment.