Sudbury job fair offers positions to help the vulnerable

A job fair at city hall in Sudbury on Wednesday aimed to ease the employment shortage for community agencies that work with the homeless and the vulnerable.

Job seekers came to meet with employers hoping to secure positions helping others at a time of growing need.

Shane Black came to the job fair because he is looking for a job helping people in need.

“These people need help and there is just not enough people with that empathy to fill that role. So that’s really why I want to,” he said.

Black said he was couch surfing at one point in his life and also had an addiction to alcohol.

“Personally I have been through a bit of a rougher life and it’s really opened my eyes to a lot of the struggles that people have to go through and some of them are outside of their control,” he said.

Sabrina Carter studied social services work and said she recognizes the growing needs of the vulnerable in Sudbury.

Sabrina Carter attended a job fair at city hall in Sudbury on Wednesday aimed at easing the employment shortage for community agencies that work with the homeless and the vulnerable. (Alana Everson/CTV News)

“There is a large amount of people currently right now who frequent the downtown area who don’t have anywhere to go and don’t have anywhere warm to sleep at night because the shelter gets full very quickly, as well,” Carter said.

“And so they are stuck outside a lot of the time. So it’s really important to try to find a way to help them out as soon as possible.”

MORE PEOPLE NEED HELP

The Elgin Street Mission was on had recruiting for two paid positions. One in the kitchen and a team lead.

“It feels like I say it over and over and over but there is an increase in the people that we serve,” said Amanda Robichaud, the director of the Elgin Street Mission.

“Of course we are seeing some young families around. The numbers are increasing and so we have found that we do need more people to make it happen. We have amazing volunteers but it does take some staff positions to make it happen, as well.”

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The job fair was presented by the Homelessness Network and officials said the need to fill positions is dire with the number and needs of homeless and vulnerable people increasing weekly.