Re-Entry

Monday, May 15, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m., Headquarters Library, Meeting Room A

Open to all job seekers. Meet with potential employers and representatives from community resource providers to access training, benefits, and more.

Job seekers, you do not have to attend the Re-Entry Partnership Conference to attend the Job and Resource Fair. 

Participating organizations

• AGPM LLC Banyan Hammock Apartment Homes
• Alachua County Board of County Commissioners
• Alachua County Department of Community Support Services
• Alachua County Sheriff's Office
• BOLD Program
• CareerSourceNCFL
• Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida
• City of Gainesville - RTS (Regional Transportation System)
• City of Gainesville - Youth Services
• Coca-Cola Florida
• Community Spring
• Episcopal Children's Services
• FL Department of Corrections
• HHS at North Florida Hospital
• Mainstreet Daily News
• Meridian Behavioral Healthcare
• NurseCore
• Oak Hammock at the University of Florida
• Park Meadows Health & Rehab
• Parklands Care Center
• Quest - FDOT Statewide Workforce Development
• RAMS RPG
• Santa Fe College - TRIO Center
• Suwanee River Area Health Education Center
• Tacachale Center
• Terrace Health & Rehabilitation Center
• Three Rivers Legal Services
• UF Health Shands
• VHA Veteran Employment Services

 

Your business is invited!

*For Businesses and Community Partners:

You are invited to the Community Job and Resource Fair! Participation is free and includes parking, six-foot table, chairs, and WiFi. 

Register here to have a table at the Job Fair! Employer registration closes May 10. 

Have questions?

Contact the Alachua County Library District at literacy@aclib.us or 352-334-3929, and the Library Partnership Resource Center at 352-334-0160 

A two-day conference to help community members facing obstacles to employment gain the skills and resources needed to obtain and maintain employment. 

Registration for the conference has closed. Walk-ins are welcome as space permits. 

Monday, April 24, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Library Partnership Branch 

• Learn the importance of communication, mental wellness, and other employment related skills to obtain and keep a job with local employment experts. 

Speaker Bios

• Beth Dodd, Kimley-Horn, CAD Operator: A month before my twenty-first birthday, while my license was suspended, I caused an accident that killed one person and almost killed another. I hit a mother and daughter walking home from school. I was given a fifteen-year sentence and was released in 2013 after serving twelve and a half years. I came to Gainesville to start over and have slowly built myself up over the years. I started with a doggie-sitting job a few times a week. I got a job at the math lab at school as a math tutor. I worked in a restaurant for a couple of years. And then, I finally got up the nerve to apply at an engineering firm. I still work in engineering today, which I hope to be doing until I retire. In July, it will be ten years since I was released. I'm still in school, now working on my bachelor's in engineering technology. I have about two more years, and then I'll graduate and be able to work as an engineer. It hasn't been easy, but I've refused to give up, and it's finally paying off.

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• Leigh Scott, Community Spring, Advocate & Volunteer Coordinator for Grace Marketplace: Leigh Scott (he/him) is a lifelong Gainesville, Florida resident. Serving as an Advocate and Volunteer Coordinator for Grace Marketplace, a low-barrier homeless shelter, he has a deep love and connection to the guests he works with. Leigh had a 15-year radio career hosting his own morning show, punk rock show, and covering University of Florida athletics. Leigh is a justice-impacted person who spent 5 years in the Florida Department of Corrections. During his time inside, he designed and taught self-help classes to hundreds of incarcerated individuals. He continued that work after coming home, mentoring and advocating for justice-impacted individuals. In 2020, Leigh combined his broadcasting, teaching skills, and lived experience to create Uncarcerated, a podcast giving formerly incarcerated people a space to share their journeys into incarceration and the challenges in freedom. Leigh is passionate about college football, punk rock, and growing food with his amazing partner.

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• Damien Niolet, Career Source of North Central Florida, Business Development Manager: As the Business Development Manager for CareerSource North Central Florida, Damian is responsible for ensuring businesses in Alachua and Bradford counties are aware of Federal, State, and local programs designed to upskill the workforce while offsetting the costs. He accomplishes this by connecting with as many community organizations as possible. He is the Professional Development Chair for Alachua County Emerging Leaders (ACEL), a member of The United Way's Community Investment Council, a Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce Diplomat, and a member of Veterans for Peace.

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• Marianne Van Dongen, Perry Roofing, Residential Coordinator: Marianne did 27 years in prison and moved to Gainesville upon her release in 2019. Marianne works at Perry Roofing where she is the Administrative Coordinator of their Residential Department. Upon her release, she struggled finding employment and housing. Marianne was sentenced to life in prison, but never gave up hope that she would be released one day. 

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• Mary Farrell, Florida Department of Corrections, Sr. Probation Officer: Mary Farrell is a Senior Probation Officer with the Florida Department of Corrections. She was worked for the Florida Department of Corrections for 19 years. Ms. Farrell has worked with the Division 5, Mental Health Felony Forensic Court for the past 7 years. This is a specialty court with an emphasis of assisting mentally ill clients become restabilized and in compliance with the mandates of probation, so that the person may knowingly adhere with what the court has ordered. 

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• Samantha Howell, Three Rivers Legal Services, Pro Bono Director: Samantha Howell is the Pro Bono Director at Three Rivers Legal Services. She has over a decade of experience in creating and managing pro bono programs, with experience at three statewide organizations. Samantha serves on the Eighth Judicial Circuit Bar Association Board and its Pro Bono Committee, the Eighth Judicial Circuit's Pro Bono Committee, the Florida Bar's Public Interest Law Section's Advocacy and Homelessness sub-sections, and the Florida Pro Bono Coordinators Association (FPBCA). Samantha also serves on the board of the National Association of Pro Bono Professionals. She is admitted to practice in the state courts of Florida and New York, and in the Southern District federal courts of New York and Florida. Samantha has a B.A. in Political Sociology from Whitman College and obtained her J.D. from Albany Law School. She is the recipient of the 2022 Kay B. Meyers Pro Bono Coordinator Award from the FPBCA. She also received the 2014 Supervisor Award from the Albany Law School Pro Bono Program, and the 2017 Public Citizen of the Year Award from the New York State Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

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• Tequila McKnight, TNT Dynamite Cleaning Service, Owner: Tequila Mcknight was born and raised in Gainesville, Florida. A proud graduate of Gainesville High School, she is the founder of a local business, TNT Dynamite Cleaning Service. Tequila is passionate about ending the mass incarceration of women and girls in Florida. She has worked with the Gainesville chapter of the Florida Council for Incarcerated & Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls since 2016. More recently, she worked on the campaign for Amendment 4, which restored the voting rights for nearly 1.5 million formerly incarcerated Florida residents. Tequila brings to Community Spring a deep concern for the youth in Gainesville. As a proud mother of five children and five grandchildren, she is driven to build a stronger, more prosperous community for future generations.

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• Angela Tenerelli, Partnership for Strong Families, SWAG Family Resource Center Manager: Angela Tenerelli is a combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and spent six years in the U.S. Air Force as a Persian Linguist.  She is also a mom of six children (one currently a foster child) and has worked in child welfare since 2015, when she first started volunteering with the Child Protection Investigations Unit at the Department of Children and Families (DCF) in Lake City, prior to starting an internship with them.  She has worked as a Child Protection Investigator, a child welfare case manager and supervisor, a pediatric mental health targeted case manager and has held positions in Columbia, Marion, and Alachua counties.  She has fostered and adopted three children so far and is now fostering another, so she’s seen the child welfare system from different points of view.  She is passionate about supporting birth families, as she believes that to be the secret to preventing child abuse and neglect.  

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• Corey Collins, River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding, Youth and Community Specialist                                                                                 

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• Brett Buell, Gainesville Opportunity Center, Development Director

 

 

Tuesday, April 25, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Library Partnership Branch 

• Build a workforce re-entry kit with bus passes, interview clothing, library cards, identification, and phones, as well as connections to local healthcare, childcare, education, and housing providers. 

Confirmed providers

• Alachua County Department of Community and Support Services
• Alachua County Library District
• Alachua County Supervisor of Elections
• Alachua County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center
• Assurance Wireless
• Career Source - WIOA Program
• Early Learning Coalition of Alachua County
• Episcopal Children's Services
• Gainesville Fire Rescue Community Resource Paramedicine Program
• Gainesville Housing Authority
• Health Street
• Human Rights Coalition of Alachua County
• Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, Inc.
• Partnership for Strong Families
• River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding
• Santa Fe College - TRIO Educational Opportunity Center
• Santa Fe College - Displaced Homemaker Program

Documents to bring

 

• Community ID from the Human Rights Coalition of Alachua County
  • Requirements: 

1. Photo Identification: valid or expired driver's license, national ID card, passport, prison or jail ID, military ID, school ID, etc.
2. Proof of Address: utility bill, bank statement, rental contract
3. Proof of Age: passport, birth certificate, **NOT a driver's license**

 

• Alachua County Library Card
  • Requirements:

1. Valid Photo Identification
2. Proof of Florida residency

 

• Assurance Wireless
  • Requirements:

Assurance Wireless is a federal Lifeline Assistance program. Lifeline is a government assistance program. Enrollment is available to individuals who qualify based on federal or state-specific eligibility criteria. The Assurance Wireless offer provides eligible low-income households with free monthly data, unlimited texting, and free monthly minutes.

Enrollment is available to individuals who qualify based on federal or state-specific eligibility criteria.  You may qualify if you or a member of your household participate in one of these assistance programs:

• Medicaid/Medi-Cal
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps or SNAP)/CalFresh
• Supplemental Security Income
• Federal Public Housing Assistance
• Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
• Tribally-Administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
• Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
• Tribal Head Start
• Veterans and Survivors Pension Benefit

You can also qualify based on household income. 

The Lifeline Assistance program is available for only one wireless or wireline account per household.

Separate households that live at the same address may be eligible, including residents of homeless shelters and nursing homes. Residents with temporary addresses may also be eligible. Please see Assurance site for additional information.

 

 

Registration for the conference has closed. Walk-ins are welcome as space permits. 

Have questions?

Contact Alachua County Library District at literacy@aclib.us or 352-334-3929, and Library Partnership Resource Center at 352-334-0160.