Dear Abby: Repeat offender is ready now to try new path to good job

Posted: October 11, 2012

DEAR ABBY: My life has always been scary. My parents divorced when I was 3. Dad always seemed to cause trouble for Mom, who struggled to provide for me and my older sister. She always struggled with alcohol and drugs.

I have spent a portion of my life incarcerated, starting when I was a teenager. I'm now 22 and doing time for selling drugs.

I'd like to find a decent job and be able to pay my bills and save a little. How can I go about finding a job? I don't have a resume and although I have had many jobs, I never stayed very long, and I have a criminal record.

- Serving Time in Pennsylvania

DEAR SERVING TIME: I admire that you have decided to change your life. A place to start would be to talk to the prison chaplain. Some religious denominations have programs to help inmates and former inmates transition back into society.

The oldest prison/re-entry group in the country is the Pennsylvania Prison Society. Their website is at prisonsociety.org. Their re-entry program helps former prisoners attain self-sufficiency through a four-day job readiness workshop, which teaches the skills necessary to find and keep a job. Preregistration is recommended, and their phone number is 215-564-6005, ext. 117. Call Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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