Job Fair for individuals with criminal records held in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - As Georgia’s Reentry Awareness Month comes to a close, local organizations teamed up to help find jobs for Columbus residents who may feel that a criminal record is holding them back.

On Tuesday, New Life Second Chance Outreach hosted their 3rd annual One Stop Shop Resource and Job Fair for Individuals with Criminal Records. Several employers

The Georgia Justice Project was also at the fair to conduct a workshop on Understanding & Correcting Your Criminal Record. Attendees were encouraged to bring a recent copy of their background check so that the attorneys could assist them on making sense of the record and particular charges.

The event was being supported by the newly established Mayor’s Commission on Reentry.

Leaders say the purpose of the Commission is to support local residents who are in the process of exiting incarceration facilities and transitioning to a new lifestyle.

“Over 94 percent of the people that are in prison, they’re going to be coming back home and so I would think the common sense thing is when you’re going to have people living next door to you, you should want them to be successful,” said Waleisha Wilson, founder of New Life Second Chance Outreach. "You should want them to be able to get jobs and sew into the local economy because people are not going to commit crimes because you asked them to not commit crimes. People have bills to pay.

For more information on the Mayor’s commission and their events, visit the Columbus Commission on Reentry Website here.

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