Perry Co. PREP Center hosts Job and Resource Fair

From the West Alabama Newsroom–

A Job and Resource Fair in Perry County is helping to give some formerly incarcerated men — a new lease on life.

The Bureau of Pardons and Parole and Ingram State Technical College conducted a Job and Resource Fair — at the Perry County Prep Center near Uniontown.

The Prep Center program provides male probationers and parolees — with the tools and skills they need — to live a productive life.

Dozens of program participants got to meet and talk with potential employers — and learn about community resources — that could help them make a successful reentry.

“The Bureau of Pardon and Parole has one goal in mind. Public safety, first and foremost,” said ABPP Director Cam Ward.

“But if you want to have a good public safety program, you know what you need? Job opportunities. If you get a good paying job, a good skilled paying job, the odds of you going back to prison drops by half.”

“The Prep Center’s been a blessing for me,” said participant John Gleaton.

“I got my forklift license, I got my heavy machinery and everything. That’s really the things that I want to lean more towards. Because I want to have a job that and a career that I enjoy. You know, I don’t believe it would be work with doing something that I love to do. So, I’m just ready to get hands on and I’m ready to get at it.”

The program also provides drug and mental health treatment — in addition to GED and job readiness training.