WorkSource changes lives with second chances every day

WorkSource centers statewide play an active role in matching employers with job seekers who have criminal histories. WorkSource specialists teach these customers how to talk honestly to employers about their past and help to remove barriers to finding work. These same specialists also explain to employers the benefits of hiring justice-involved people, who can be reliable, trustworthy and hardworking employees.

Second chances can be powerful and life changing. Here is just one second-chance story from one WorkSource Specialist: Reza Firouzi.

Hi. I work for WorkSource Central Basin in Moses Lake. I’ve been working for the Employment Security Department for the last 30 years. I’m a job service specialist and I work in offender services [helping justice-involved individuals find work] and labor exchange [matching job seekers to employers].

I love my job because I get to help individuals every day. Everyone who works at WorkSource is a professional, and they’re all there for a reason.

I want to talk about a particular client named Aracely. She called and was very emotional thanking the WorkSource team for the services we had given her.

She had a couple of felonies on her record, and in order to get a job, she needed her record to be cleared. With my help with the paperwork, she was able to have the felonies cleared. As a result, she got a great job with a dialysis center.

Prior to going to WorkSource, she had applied for that same job and wasn’t able to get it because of her criminal history. Fortunately, she got the job. She was so ecstatic and thankful, she was in tears when she called. She was thankful for the things we do at WorkSource.

I just want to show how grateful I am to work at WorkSource, and for all of my co-workers and the work that they do. Thank you!

The Employment Security Department offers tax credits and bonding to employers who hire justice-involved individuals. As partners in Washington’s WorkSource system and the American Job Center Network, the Employment Security Department helps people — unemployed or not — find new jobs and learn new skills. We help them experience the life-changing Power of a Job. We also work with businesses to help them find employees because we know they are Powered by Jobs.