NORFOLK, Va. – Finding a job isn’t always easy and it can be nearly impossible when you have a criminal record. A job fair in Norfolk helped knock down some of those barriers on Friday.
The fair was held was held from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Norfolk Workforce Development Center and was organized by the U.S. Probation Office and the Hampton Roads Re-Entry Employment Committee. Nearly 30 businesses and agencies were on hand to help.
Organizers tell News 3 hundreds showed up to the fair, which targets people recently released from jail and other criminal records.
Having a job is key, organizers said, to successful re-entry into society.
“It’s just exciting to have employers who are willing to come to a job fair with no stigma attached for the attendees that know they have a conviction in their background,” said Jason Ewers, Co-Chair of the Hampton Roads Re-Entry Employment Committee.
There is another job fair set for September 12 in Newport News. It’ll be held at Gethsemane Baptist Church on Roanoke Avenue from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Those without criminal records can also attend the fair.
