JACKSON, Mich. (WLNS) — David Miller lives his life by eight words. “Each day is one step at a time,” said Miller. That’s because he still remembers the long months he spent living on the streets. “I had a bad falling out and things just went bad to worse.” But at his lowest, an opportunity at the Jackson Interfaith Shelter caught his attention. It’s a program designed by Eric Rice called Drive.
“My whole focus is to get them income as quickly as possible,” said Eric Rice, owner of Drive Staffing Solution. That starts by hosting a job fair every week, with the hope to use employment as a foundation for a new life. “We brought the shelter pretty much from 0% up to 65% employment. Most of the team members that I see now when I come in are working, and actively employed and they are just making changes to their life and lifestyle,” said Rice. Rice has partnered with the manufacturing company Martinrea to provide jobs to around 50 people in the last month alone, and they even get free transportation. It’s all an effort to break down barriers. “We’ll buy their shoes. We get them work uniforms. We set them up with lunch cards,” said Rice. The shelter’s director Steve Castle says the program’s impact is contagious. “Other people are saying hey I’m working here you should go to this job fair. So, it’s a positive culture where people are actually pulling others into things that are going to help them in life which is sometimes a struggle so that’s exactly what we want here,” said Castle. Richard Allen Benson and Kathy Johnson came through the program. Now employed, they say they wake up every day with appreciation for a new life. “Had it not been for this shelter and this job fair, Martinrea, I don’t know where we would be. We would make it, no doubt, but I don’t know. It’s hard to say where we would be, but we know where we are now,” said participant, Richard Allen Benson. Miller says a word comes to mind. “Priceless. I mean to give homeless people a chance because people look at homeless people in a certain way like they are bums, they are no good, but actually, this is a program that I think could open some people’s eyes and say hey there’s actually people that are different who are hard workers.” The job fair is every Thursday at the shelter starting at 9 a.m. Source: WLNS www.wlns.com/news/michigan/jackson-initiative-helps-provide-jobs-to-homeless-community
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