A local staffing program is helping community members experiencing homelessness find jobs by solving one of their biggest obstacles: transportation.
Eric Rice, president of Drive Staffing, created the program after noticing a disconnect between employers needing workers and people wanting jobs but lacking ways to get to work.
"I can't find people to work in our plant, and I go to one homeless shelter, and there's 20 community members dying to work. Dying for an opportunity, right? And as I started talking to them, it's just, 'Well, how am I gonna get there? I don't have transportation,'" Rice said.
- Drive Staffing connects homeless job seekers with employers by solving transportation barriers.
- The program partners with local shelters to help participants maintain employment and build stability.
- President Eric Rice says focusing on people's desire to change creates loyal employees and transforms lives.
The program works with several community partners, with the Interfaith Shelter being one of their most significant collaborations. The shelter provides temporary housing and essential resources to people experiencing homelessness or poverty.
"Typically, the challenges that they have that keep them out of the workforce are things that we can resolve pretty quickly and easily," Rice said.
For community members like Heather Davis, transportation was the primary barrier to maintaining employment.
"I think the biggest issue for us working in the field today is transportation. So, with them helping me with transportation, they help me beat the barriers of not being able to go to work," Davis said.
She noted that transportation issues often lead to "absences, tardies, not having daycare. You know, you could go further on."
Angel Ginolfi found not just employment through the program but a path to a new career.
"I didn't have a job for about a year and a half, and they offered me that opportunity that I took. And I was working at the factory, and now I'm driving the people to the factory and helping them out that way," Ginolfi said.
The impact of stable employment extends beyond financial stability, offering participants a chance at a fresh start.
"I feel like I have taken multiple steps through to higher my self-esteem, to higher my faith, and, like I said my self-accountability. And I really, I'm ready to, you know, actually move up into life," Ginolfi said.
Rice believes the key to success with second-chance employment starts with one fundamental element.
"The thing I love about second-chance community, is that it all starts with desire, right? The desire to work, the desire to change," Rice said.
He added, "If you can be a part of somebody's transition, you can build a loyal employee for life."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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