LUMBERTON — The long line of people waiting to get into the job fair at the Pine Street Senior Center on Wednesday said it all. Jobs are needed in Robeson County.

That comes as no surprise as the county’s unemployment rate for August was 9.3 percent, the sixth highest in North Carolina..

More than 400 job seekers made their way Wednesday into the Pine Street center to participate in the fair designed primarily to assist individuals who have served time in prison to find work. At the end of the day, 336 of the fair participants walked out of the center with jobs.

The event was sponsored by the Southeast Regional Re-entry Council, an agency that helps formerly incarcerated individuals in Robeson, Scotland and Hoke counties obtain things necessary for the inmate’s successful transition back into the community, such as housing and jobs.

“We assist these individuals in everything from A to Z,” said Angelina Phillips, jobs placement specialist for the re-entry program. “These people are often overlooked. They have made mistakes in their lives, but everyone needs a second chance.”

Five companies were on hand to take applications and hire workers. They included M.J. Soffe, Trinity Foods, Butterball, Steven Roberts Original Desserts and CLP, a skilled trades staffing company that on Wednesday was seeking workers for the solar energy industry.

Malinda McRae, coordinator of the re-entry program, was pleased with the fair’s large turnout.

“We want to make sure that everyone gets the chance to be self-sustaining,” she said. “We say that believing is achieving. Be positive and anything can be obtained.”

Wednesday’s job fair is the sixth that the Southeast Regional Re-entry Council has sponsored since May 23. Another fair is scheduled to be held on Oct. 20 in Lumberton.

Darnell Singletary, 38, of Lumberton, was one of the lucky applicants to find work with a solar company. He said that he had come to the fair hoping to find some kind of construction work.

“This program is great,” said Singletary. “It gives you a chance to redeem yourself.”

Marko Perry, who was also hired for a job in solar energy, also gave the second-chance program high marks.

“It can help a lot of people,” he said.

Many of those who attended and found jobs at the fair, however, were not former inmates, according to Lumberton Councilman John Cantey, who assisted the Re-entry Council in setting up the fair that was held in his district. He attributed the heavy turnout to a flier announcing the fair that was distributed throughout Lumberton on Tuesday.

“It is a blessing that 336 of our city and county citizens were employed today,” Cantey said. “The re-entry program is good. It works. It is just up to our citizens to do the right thing. They need to get hired and after being hired stay on the job. They need to stick with it.”

Angelina Phillips, jobs placement specialist with the Southeast Regional Re-entry Council, helps Darnell Singletary fill out a job application during Wednesday’s job fair in Lumberton. Singletary was one of 336 individuals who were hired during the fair sponsored by the Southeast Re-entry Council.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_job-fair1_cmyk.jpgAngelina Phillips, jobs placement specialist with the Southeast Regional Re-entry Council, helps Darnell Singletary fill out a job application during Wednesday’s job fair in Lumberton. Singletary was one of 336 individuals who were hired during the fair sponsored by the Southeast Re-entry Council.

More than 400 job seekers attended Wednesday’s job fair at the Pine Street Senior Center in Lumberton sponsored by the Southeast Regional Re-entry Council. The five companies present at the fair hired 336 of those hoping to find work.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_job_fair2_cmyk.jpgMore than 400 job seekers attended Wednesday’s job fair at the Pine Street Senior Center in Lumberton sponsored by the Southeast Regional Re-entry Council. The five companies present at the fair hired 336 of those hoping to find work.

By Bob Shiles

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Reporter Bob Shiles can be reached at 910-416-5165.