TEXARKANA, Arkansas – A new mobile employment program is launching in Texarkana, Arkansas to help the homeless community find employment.
The Salvation Army partners with the Arkansas Workforce Center to provide employment and education assistance to the area’s homeless population.
The Arkansas Manpower Center has brought its mobile unit to the Texarkana Salvation Army parking lot for the past two weeks.
Nancy Perkins is a guest living at the Center of Hope shelter.
She uses the free and convenient service to fill out job applications as a cashier.
“It’s good that we have this here, that we can do something and have another agency working for us,” Perkins said.
The mobile hub helps people search for job opportunities, post resumes, and find career information.
Mark Murray says he had been looking for a stable job in transport for six months.
The center helps her find jobs online.
“It’s a blessing. I need a bad one. It helps a lot of us get jobs,” Murray explained.
The Salvation Army has 65 beds, but the mobile unit will serve the entire homeless population on both sides of the state line.
Amanda Holland has only been at the shelter for a few days.
She has just started looking for a job in customer service, but feels optimistic.
Holland says the mobile unit staff were very helpful.
“It’s easy to do, you go to the computer, fill in all the information, and you put in all the work history you may have done in your past and bring it to your present,” Holland said.
Salvation Army leaders say the Arkansas Workforce Center is successfully helping bridge the gap between homelessness and full-time employment.
Perkins thinks the mobile unit will help him find the right job.
“It would change my life a little bit right now, from being jobless and homeless to having a job. I can stay here and save some money until I get a place,” Perkins said. .
The Arkansas Mobile Workforce Center will be available at the Salvation Army in Texarkana every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
