Felon mom looking for employment

Hopefully you can help me.

I am a single mom of 3 children. I was charged with a felony for conspiracy in 2007 in the Midwest. I never served any jail time, just 3 yrs of probation. You would think that with this being the ONLY time I had ever been in trouble with the law, and with no jail time served, people would be a little more understanding? But they are not!

The last time I worked was 2009 (because I got the job BEFORE the charge hit my record.) Since 2009, I have bounced from family member to family member, drawing unemployment to support my kids, all the while searching for work and nothing! I moved to Florida with a family member in 2010 because supposedly jobs were more plentiful here. My unemployment has run out and I am at my wits end! I have looked into free or low cost training programs and they all are either designed for people without any criminal record OR people who HAVE served jail time!

I have an Associate of Liberal Arts degree and am a reasonably intelligent person. I have a physical disability, so although I could do manual labor, I would not be able to do it for long periods of time. I could possibly get hired at a fast food joint, but how can I support a family of 4 on minimum wage? The family member I am living with is dropping hints that she is tired of supporting my kids and I and I am afraid we are going to lose our home.

I am a good person and I never hurt anyone, did drugs or anything of the sort. I got in with a group of people doing the wrong thing in the name of supporting my kids and am truly sorry for what I have done. I am paying restitution on time every month and just want to start my life over and be a productive citizen! I am searching for 3rd shift work so that I can be home for my children during the day. I just need someone to give me a chance! So if you know of any 2nd chance programs that would help train a single mother to work a job that would pay enough to support her children please let me know!

Thank you in advance...

Sincerely,

Mother-at-her-wits-end.

Felon mom looking for employment

Hello ,

As you noticed on several posts on this blog, my first suggestion to ex-offenders and felons looking for jobs is the local One-stop Career Center. This is a really underutilized resource. Each state has a network of centers that provide an assortment of free services that can help you in getting a job. In addition, these centers provide a long list of services that can help people get jobs and even train them for new careers. Some services available are:

Career planning and counseling

Workshops (Resume Writing, Interviewing Skills, and related topics.)

Computers with internet access and word processing

Daily access to thousands of job listings

Job-related magazines and local newspapers

Job postings and referrals

Printers, fax machines, phones, and copiers for job search use

Each center has trained counselors that provide one-on-one assistance. Many of them have experience assisting ex-offenders and felons looking for jobs. As stated in a previous post, you can find your nears center here:

www.servicelocator.org

I hope this helps.