Hamilton County, TN – Yesterday morning, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Correction’s Division Re-Entry Program, in association with our partner, CoreCivic, hosted a job fair at Silverdale Jail for inmates who are nearing their release date. Also on hand were several housing services specializing in providing safe housing options for newly released inmates who are maintaining stable employment.

In preparation for yesterday’s event, HCSO Re-Entry Program staff held classes to help inmates document their job skills, create personalized resumes, and participate in occupational counseling. Altogether, (11) inmates participated in the job counseling exercise. The goal of today’s event was to help inmates’ secure stable housing and employment upon their scheduled release.

Also included in yesterday’s event was a powerful message from Dr. David Banks who spoke to inmates about self-awareness, self-confidence, and the importance of a successful mindset.

Inmates that are veterans were able to receive information concerning housing, health care, employment, and financial assistance through the Veterans Administration (VA). Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond, Deputy Chief of Corrections Joe Fowler, and CoreCivic’s Assistant Warden came by to observe yesterday’s event and offer words of encouragement to the inmates. Sheriff Hammond also expressed his continued support of the re-entry program, and would like to see more job fairs in the future.

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank Wendy Harris, Re-Entry Program Supervisor, and Teresa Bragg, Alcohol and Drug Counselor, who worked very hard to ensure that the inmates were prepared for this event. The inmates presented themselves well, and were very pleased with their encounters with the employers. Overall the job fair was truly a success.

Special thanks to the following vendors for participating in today’s inmate job fair:

Manpower Staffing

Goodwill Industries

K&M Builders

American Job Center

Transition House

Oxford House

The Chattanooga Times Free Press covered yesterday’s event and a link to the story is below:

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2018/nov/14/hamiltcountys-re-entry-program-hosts-job-fair/483058/