More than 550 people attended a first-of-its-kind Westchester County Mental Health and Social Services Job Fair at the Westchester County Center. Westchester’s non-profit agency partners were on hand to recruit, interview and make offers to fill hundreds of jobs throughout the County.
Hundreds of job seekers looking for careers in the helping services made their way to the Westchester County Center, where more than 30 different nonprofit service providers took resumes, interviewed and even made job offers at Westchester County’s first Mental Health and Social Services Job Fair.
Service providers including housing, substance use, family services, mental health, developmental disabilities and student services came together for the event, which was organized by the Westchester County Departments of Community Mental Health and Social Services, led by the County Executive’s Office.
County Executive George Latimer said: “The ability to bring employers and quality, prospective employees together at one location is very rewarding for me, and the staff who worked so hard to make this event happen. Hundreds of job seekers were able to meet face to face with prominent organizations who are looking to expand their work force, and continue providing critical services to people throughout Westchester County.”
Commissioner of the Department of Community Mental Health Michael Orth said: “This event, which connected many of Westchester’s primary service providers with outstanding candidates from throughout the community, will serve to enhance what we, collectively as a community, do to help the people we serve.”
Commissioner of the Department of Social Services Kevin McGuire said: “Our network of service providers are the lifeblood of the social services system in Westchester. The effort on their part to reach out at a Job Fair to hire new staff is a testament to their commitment to our community.”
Chief Program Officer of Human Development Service of Westchester Kelly Darrow, who participated as a prospective employer, said: “Having the opportunity to see a large number of qualified applicants seeing community based employment makes the hiring process more effective. Job applicants were prepared with resumes and eager to hear about opportunities. Those beginning connections give important impressions about an individual’s ability to work in human services. HDSW was very pleased to offer interview to quite a few individual and we look forward to reaching out to additional applicants in the coming days.”
Melissa Pagett of Rehabilitation Support Services, a major service-connected housing provider in Westchester said: “We received 42 resumes at the Job Fair and interviewed three people on site. Rehabilitation Support Services (RSS) also provided about a dozen applications to people that were interested, but didn’t have time to fill out the applications there. This was an amazing experience, and I thank everyone for including RSS.”