Apr. 1—Citizens returning to society after incarceration often face barriers to finding stable employment, and a Montgomery County program seeks to plug local people back into the workforce.

“We want to do everything we can to make sure that our returning citizens are prepared, and to get them into the jobs because it does a couple of things,” said Office of Reentry program manager Quinn Howard.

“It’s going to help them with their families. And it’s also going to help the community because when folks are working, they’re going to contribute back to the economy. And when folks are working, it is going to reduce criminal activity.”

The Reentry Career Alliance Academy, a program through the reentry office, hosted a job fair with a twist on Wednesday morning.

Typically at career fairs, employers create booths to attract potential employees into striking up a conversation about available positions. But at the reentry office’s Reverse Career Fair, people seeking employment after incarceration set up tables with their resumes and lists of their professional strengths.

“We are one of the few counties in Ohio that does this kind of work,” Montgomery County commissioner Debbie Lieberman said.

She spoke to participants at the job fair on Wednesday.

“We’ve had our office of reentry now for almost 15 years, and I’m really proud of the work we do. And our team,” she said.

The academy is a four-week program that focuses on job readiness, networking skills, education and more.

A total of 15 program graduates took part in the reverse job fair, including Alonzo Davis. Davis said the Reentry Career Alliance Academy gave him confidence and a sense of freedom.

“Coming back into society like this, we’re stigmatized,” he said. “We think that the hope is gone. But knowing that there’s a community that cares about us, I think that’s important for people to know.”

Davis said his favorite part of the program was taking an assessment that allowed him to learn his top strengths. Winning others over is one of his premier skills. He wants to find employment in a field that allows him to work with people, like customer service.

Howard said the reentry office aims to reduce the frequency of people returning to incarceration, also called recidivism. The recidivism rate among academy graduates is less than 9%, and the academy has helped more than 800 people successfully return to society.

“We want to minimize or reduce criminal activity. We want to keep our communities safe, but also we’re going to reduce recidivism, as well,” he said.

But the academy also aims to help returning citizens build better lives for themselves and their families, all while boosting the area workforce.

“It is a little tough for our returning citizens to get opportunities,” Howard said. “The times are changing, and now employers are having difficulties filling in their jobs. We have a pool of talented people with skills that can fill those jobs.”

Several industries were represented among employers at the fair, including shipping, food and cleaning services.

Garry Harness, a manager at Gem City Tire, said his company has had a few successful hires through the reentry academy.

“I believe in second chances,” Harness said. “We review things on a case-by-case basis, and we’ve had really hard workers come to us through our connection with this program.”