{"id":699,"date":"2019-04-08T16:26:33","date_gmt":"2019-04-08T16:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/2019\/04\/08\/201948over-400-job-seekers-attended-hamdens-keefe-community-centers-first-job-fair\/"},"modified":"2020-09-05T19:33:31","modified_gmt":"2020-09-05T19:33:31","slug":"201948over-400-job-seekers-attended-hamdens-keefe-community-centers-first-job-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/2019\/04\/08\/201948over-400-job-seekers-attended-hamdens-keefe-community-centers-first-job-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"More than 400 job seekers attended Hamden\u2019s Keefe Community Center’s first job fair"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Keefe Community Center, located just off Dixwell Avenue in Hamden, welcomed hundreds of job seekers on Saturday April 6, as it hosted its first job fair. Armed with their resumes and an entrepreneurial spirit, eager attendees arrived in droves. They were met by dozens of equally eager local employers excited to meet new potential employees. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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The event was arranged by community service coordinator Y\u2019Isiah Lopes, who less than a year ago was tasked with managing the Keefe Community Center and overseeing outreach projects in Hamden. <\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve been employed for seven months now with the town of Hamden, and when they brought me in they wanted me to do some outreach in the community,\u201d Lopes said. \u201cI thought it\u2019d be a great idea to find some of the local employers along Dixwell\u2026.and get these jobs together and these employers together for the community.\u201d <\/p>\n

Unemployment is currently at an 18-year low nationwide, and Connecticut’s unemployment rate is similar to the national average at 3.8 percent. However, according to a 2019 study conducted by the Connecticut Department of Labor, thousands of individuals in Hamden and the greater New Haven area remain jobless. Both employers and job seekers agree that events like the Hamden job fair are an effective way to close that gap.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\u201cI think unemployment is an issue everywhere, unfortunately. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s just in Hamden,\u201d Angela Vey, an officer with the Hamden Police Department said. \u201cBut I absolutely see a lot of benefit with functions like this…I know that the town of Hamden does do a lot to help people try and get jobs.\u201d <\/p>\n

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The Keefe Community Center has long played a critical role in the town of Hamden. For years it\u2019s served the community through its food bank, by providing shelter for displaced families and by giving assistance to individuals facing heating emergencies during the cold winter months. After taking the position of community service coordinator, Lopes sought to expand the center\u2019s role.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s great being a charitable organization, but we also have to offer something else,\u201d Lopes said.<\/p>\n

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With this goal in mind, staff from Keefe and Hamden Adult Education organized a job fair featuring mostly employers from businesses located along Dixwell Avenue. From Marshall\u2019s and Stop and Shop to the Hamden Police Department, dozens of organizations participated in Saturday\u2019s event. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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TJ Maxx was one of the event\u2019s most popular employers, with over 150 candidates filling out applications.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cBringing employers in, especially employers like Home Depot, ShopRite, Starbucks, these national employers, I thought it would be great for the community to have the opportunity to work for them,\u201d Lopes said.<\/p>\n

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For New Haven resident and job seeker Jatajia Copeland, the vast array of employers was a major factor in her decision to partake in the event. <\/p>\n

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\u201cI go to CT Works in New Haven, and they told me about the job fair in Hamden today,\u201d Copeland said. \u201cWhen I saw the list of companies I decided to come. I\u2019m not applying anywhere particular, I just applied everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In addition to companies looking to hire, the job fair also invited representatives from employment resource organizations like the American Job Center (AJC) to participate. <\/p>\n

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\u201cMy role here today is to find qualified candidates to fill eligible jobs for local employers,\u201d AJC representative Kevin Lawrence said. \u201cPeople come to me and I register them for a job screening event at our facility. It takes place every week on Tuesday and Thursday.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Based on attendance, there should be no shortage of qualified candidates. Lawrence explained that in the dozen or so job fairs he\u2019s attended across the state, the usual turnout is around 75 potential employees. In just three hours, the Keefe Community Center had already drawn in 400 participants.<\/p>\n

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\u201cA lot of employers really love the turnout,\u201d Lopes said. \u201cTJ Maxx and Marshall\u2019s, they said they only came with 75 applications and they already have 150 filled out. They asked us to make more copies because they weren\u2019t prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n

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