[The Star-Ledger] Essex County has forged a new partnership with local churches in its latest push to reach unemployed and underemployed people.
About 30 reverends, imams, ministers and other clergy heard from county social service workers last week on the myriad services available to help residents struggling to find work.
“Most of the time, people don’t know what the county has to offer,” County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo said.
Essex County’s unemployment rate was 8.7 percent as of January, according to figures from the state Department of Labor. DiVincenzo said the county unemployment rate, which is higher than the state’s average, is unacceptable.
“We ask for your partnership, we ask for your assistance,” Samuel Okparaeke, executive director of the county Workforce Investment Board, told members of the clergy at McLoone’s Boathouse in West Orange during Wednesday’s presentation. “I think our mission here is very, very important.”
The session kicked off what will be a series of quarterly meetings to address joblessness, DiVincenzo said.
Church leaders from various towns including West Orange, Nutley, Newark and Irvington participated. The majority of clergy attending represented African-American congregations.
A few leaders, including the Rev. Pamela Bakal of Grace Episcopal Church in Nutley, noted the importance of helping former inmates get hired.
Bakal, who is also president of the Diocese of Newark Prison Ministry, described it as one of the county’s most pressing needs.
