Event organizers in Philadelphia got more interest than they expected when over 3,000 individuals arrived at the Municipal Services building for a job fair for former inmates.
The crowd, which was three times that expected by city officials, greatly exceeded the capacity of the intended facilities, and resulted in the eventual postponing of the event. Plans are to reschedule the job fair at a later date at the Philadelphia Convention Center, which would be able to accommodate the large number of job seekers.
The scene in Philadelphia could have taken place in most any large city in the United States. A shrinking economy, combined with the growing numbers of individuals returning to the job market from prison terms (and the obvious hurdles such a status imposes) is creating a whole class of ex-prisoners desperate to find employment. For many, the inability to secure meaningful employment is a key factor in their decision to return to old habits and acquaintances … and ultimately, back to prison. One job seeker in Philadelphia indicated he had been searching for over two years, without success. Sadly, his experience is more the rule than the exception.
There are many mitigating factors that help to determine if a former inmate is going to become a future inmate or not. Employment is one such issue. But other factors, such as familial support, church membership, and post-prison mentoring also play a key role in an ex-prisoner’s successful reentry into society. Prison Fellowship’s reentry programs seek to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of those leaving prison, and have been effective in reducing recidivism.
To learn more about Prison Fellowship’s efforts in transforming the lives of prisoners as they leave the prison walls behind, visit our reentry page. To learn how you might be involved in this transformation, go to https://www.prisonfellowship.org/get-involved/.