How Interactive Community Events Remove Barriers to Employment

Triad Goodwill is committed to lowering the hiring stigma for job seekers with barriers to employment– poverty, disabilities, and criminal records.

“Many of the employers we work with want to hire inclusively but struggle to connect with diverse and committed talent,” explains Celina McCrea, community and business engagement manager at Triad Goodwill. “We aim to bridge that gap by supporting both job seekers and educating employers on the elements that are out of that person’s immediate control—if they have a disability, criminal record, and/or limited income.”

Since fall of 2023, Triad Goodwill has partnered with over a dozen community organizations to coordinate 10+ events dedicated to educating local employers on hiring from these populations—and to reducing the stigma that keeps skilled talent from sustainable careers.

In the most recent of these events, a poverty simulation hosted this past summer, 65 community and business leaders stepped into the shoes of someone living in poverty and then tried to navigate day-to-day life with limited income and resources. With the additional challenges of disabilities and criminal records for many of these simulated experiences, this type of event also showcases the ways that obstacles can compound across different, intersectional barriers to employment.

With powerful narratives from subject matter experts and lived experience speakers, clear data analytics, and activities designed to empower empathy and understanding, simulation events and DE&I training actively decrease hiring stigma. From over 300 attendees in total, 26 percent reported an overall decrease in hiring stigma, and for those living in poverty, that number went up to 32 percent. To share just a few pieces of feedback from these attendees:

“Informative, eye-opening, thought-provoking!”“Be prepared to share this presentation hundreds of times. So many people need to see this information.”

“Grateful for the lessons you shared! We have work to do.”

“Don’t let background reports define an individual, because there is always a story to tell.”

We also connect attendees to a wide support network of organizations that can link employers with talent through community programming.

Interested in participating in one of these events?

Triad Goodwill will be hosting another reentry simulation on February 20, 2025. For more details, please contact Celina McCrea, Community & Business Engagement Manager at Triad Goodwill: cmccrea@triadgoodwill.org.