NewBridge Services In the News

NewBridge, a non-profit 501(c)(3), is dedicated to helping people find balance in their lives by providing affordable and innovative behavioral health and education programs

MORRISTOWN -- Karen Carr, a recruitment specialist for Securitas Security Services, said she talked to a lot of people Tuesday whose situation reminded her of her own not too long ago.

Carr said she got into employment/recruitment after Telecordia Technologies shed most of its jobs in 2001.

Carr was recruiting potential employees at a job fair sponsored by the Morris Literacy Coalition at the United Methodist Church. The fair brought together potential employers and employees, but it also included social service agencies aiming to help people looking for work, seeking a career change, education services or other types of assistance.

Patricia Feltzer, of the county Department of Aging, said her agency could help a low-income worker who shares a home with parents perhaps have time for a full-time job or further education, she said.

The office offers meal sites, home visits, home-delivered meals and transportation services for senior citizens. Care for aging parents is one of the complications of finding a job for some people, she said.

Olga Burns, director of the One-Stop Job Center for the Morris/Sussex/Warren Employment and Training Services, said that while attendance was low on Tuesday, the agencies were sharing information about how to better help their clients.

Finding transportation to classes or work is a key element of the employment scene, she said. A key service is Morris in Motion, a shuttle service that operates between Dover and Mount Olive and allows retail workers and other who might work nonregular hours an inexpensive way to get to work.

Polly Lacey of the Morristown and Morris Township Library's reference department was on hand Tuesday to promote the library's computer-based English as a second language program. More than 300 people used the self-directed program last year, she said.

"About three-quarters of them just listen to the language," she said. Hearing the English conversations speeds their understanding.

At the next table Nancy Snyder, a basic literacy coordinator for the Literacy Volunteers of Morris County, said that her agency is providing basic skills for many whose jobs require them to learn and understand English.

Among the companies on hand was UPS, whose recruiter Carol Fitzpatrick said she was there looking for workers for facilities in Morris County and the region, including southern New York.

Lauren Rodimer, of Express Personal Services of Parsippany, also had Morris County jobs available, including drivers, data-entry specialists, executive assistants and machine operators.

Among those seeking alternate paths at the job fair was a group of students in the 70001 program at NewBridge Services of Pequannock.

The alternative education program takes students who have dropped out of regular high schools and gives them the opportunity to earn an equivalency high school degree and get their education or training back on track, said Amy Sheppard, a clinical case manager for the program.

The students are bright but had trouble dealing with the public high school system for any number of social or personal reasons, Sheppard said. The 70001 program steers them to training programs and schools such as County College of Morris.

Brian Walker, 17, of Lincoln Park found himself at the CCM table discussing a landscape technology program.

He said he dropped out of public school at 15 "because I thought I didn't need it." At NewBridge, he said, he found the help he needed to focus on his education. He said he plans to take the GED test at the end of March.