Last week we reported that recently KRA was awarded a multi-year contract as a Prince George’s County Works provider, working with customers enrolled in the County’s Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA), Supplementary Nutrition Assistance (SNAP), and Non-Custodial Parent Employment (NPEP) programs. Operating out of three Maryland County locations, KRA staff are working diligently to provide customers with support and training as they prepare for unsubsidized employment opportunities…which require job interviews. It quickly became apparent that lack of appropriate business attire was one of the biggest barriers to successful interviewing that these customers face. Just as quickly, Sarah Iriarte, KRA Career Agent, mobilized the staff with a collective goal to minimize this hurdle by creating a free “clothes closet”, at each program site, from which customers could choose clothing items for their interviews. Through KRA staff and community-outreach donations, the clothes closets are being stocked with only serviceable business attire items; contributors provide items…suits, blouses, shirts, ties and other accessories…that are clean, in good condition, on hangers, and hopefully in a wide range of sizes. Iriarte reported that, “We know that other KRA programs have created successful clothes-closet projects, and like them, we have already achieved positive outcomes from providing this assistance to our customers. We will continue to strive for as many items as possible, for both men and women, as we work toward eliminating this employment barrier.”
Dr. Boone’s 20+ years’ experience in the industry is extensive and her expertise in private-, public-, and non-profit sector workforce-services organizations is unparalleled, particularly in the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan area.
