The unemployment rate among Californians who were previously imprisoned is eighty per cent. People with a criminal record are only one group that will benefit from the Job Resources Fair to be held in Hayward on Tuesday, September 18. The Seventh Step Foundation along with other Alameda County non-profit organizations are hosting the event for single mothers, people with disabilities, at-risk youth, English-language learners, seniors, as well as combat veterans and ex-convicts looking to return to the workforce. Attendees will receive services including resume updating, financial literacy, web-based application training, and education on the various resources available to job seekers.

Event organizers welcome and encourage all local businesses that are hiring to attend the event.

“We have seven confirmed business attending and another eight that we are pursuing,” says Dr. Jennifer Hidalgo Ong, a commissioner with the Alameda County Commission on the Status of Women.

“We want businesses that actually will hire people from these groups.”

Confirmed exhibitors so far include Bay Area Legal Aid, Department of Rehabilitation, La Familia Counseling Services, Goodwill Industries, Veterans Employment Committee, Unitek College, Acrobat, Swords to Plowshares, Department of Apprenticeship Standards, and the California Cosmetology Association.

“Businesses that hire workers from underserved populations are able to get government grants and tax incentives,” adds Ong. “There is a tax incentive of $2,500 for any business that employs a formerly incarcerated person for one year.”

Businesses at the event will learn about governmental incentives as well as services that make it easier to hire people from the groups attending.

The event is co-sponsored by the Alameda County Commission on the Status of Women, American Optometric Associaton, Eden Youth Center, Community Resources for Independent Living (CRIL),Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, and Community Partners.

The event on September 18 will run from 11:00a.m. to 3:30p.m. at Hayward City Hall, 777 B Street.

“The city of Hayward has allowed us to have this event and all the people involved are volunteering for the job fair,” says Ong. “We are expecting 60 to 100 people to attend.”

To confirm your attendance to the event, sponsor or exhibit, contact Dr. Jennifer Ong at drjenniferong@gmail.com or (510) 521-0551. Employers that are hiring have until September 10th to register for the event.