The Unfolding Unemployment Crisis
When it was announced that Tyson Foods in Perry, IA would be closing in June, EMBARC knew the impact it would have on the refugee and immigrant communities from Burma. Numerous immigrants and refugees were employed at Tyson, of which many had worked there for more than 10 years.
Those impacted were put in vulnerable positions, unsure of how to get unemployment, if they qualified, where they could apply next, and how to support their families while unemployed. Due to this, they turned to EMBARC for support.
The first wave of clients arrived at the Access Center, leading to a rapid increase in clients far above the normal numbers seen. Right away, it was obvious that the needed systems were going to be hard to access. Staff, partners, and volunteers set to work quickly, training on the unemployment process and scheduling appointments with each client to initiate a claim. Currently staff are assisting more than 40 clients in following up for weekly meetings inside and outside the Access Center to meet the requirements of weekly certification and weekly claims.
While the journey has not been easy, milestones have been achieved.
Recently, EMBARC was awarded three small one-time emergency grants to support unemployment and direct services. This funding has allowed us to hire part-time contractors who can also support unemployment and the Access Center. Additionally, due to their extra support, EMBARC has been able to take on new clients as more plants have closed or reduced staffing, such as Smithfield in Altoona.
We have also trained seven clients so far to conduct their own weekly certifications, weekly claims, and job searches, aligning with our mission to champion self-sufficiency in the communities we serve. Most excitingly, eighteen clients have successfully obtained jobs. While the job market is difficult, we are advocating with employers and hope many more clients will soon be re-employed.
Providing unemployment support to our clients gave them the necessary financial support that they otherwise would not receive due to language barriers. Also with our assistance on job searching, clients can now leave with resumes of their work experience and an understanding of different job fields and their qualifications. The work is not done yet, and EMBARC will continue to do what we can but changes are needed.