Goodwill Opportunity Center hosts Second Chance Day in Corbin

Apr. 19—CORBIN — The Corbin Goodwill Opportunity Center hosted Second Chance Day on Wednesday.

Second Chance Day was an event designed to promote the services offered by the Goodwill Opportunity Center and their community partners.

The name of the event was inspired by the fact that the center aids those who are in need of a second chance, whether that be from incarceration, drug addiction, or some other life-altering issue.

The center offers services such as job placement/training and counseling in order to help those who are in need receive the services that will help them rejoin society as a high-level functioning individual.

Becky Wilson, Director of Career Services for Goodwill, spoke about the importance of second chances.

"We have people that come to us in need of second, third, and maybe fourth chances...," she said. "Here it is all about aiding members of the community with the support of the community...We do everything that we can to help these individuals."

Wilson also offered a powerful statement in support of community employers aiding destitute individuals in rejoining the workforce.

"There is no one that is not personally affected by addiction, so there should be no one who is not personally affected by recovery," she said. "It is so vital that employers help us to place individuals with them so that they can become productive and better themselves."

Also at the event was State Representative Tom O'Dell Smith (R-Corbin), who offered his support for what the opportunity center is doing.

He said, "I support these programs because we have a serious issue where people with disorders are not treated and cannot get the help they need...I will call up superintendents and they tell me that almost 25% of their students are on the spectrum for some kind of mental disorder. I have been working to establish programs like what Goodwill is doing so that we can help as many people as possible, especially our young ones."

Additionally, Team Kentucky Director of Targeted Services Aaron Poynter also expressed his desire for employers to help place reformed individuals into jobs.

Team Kentucky will be hosting an event entitled Bridging the Workforce Gap at the Corbin Center on May 9 in conjunction with the Southern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

There will be two meeting times at 8 a.m. and at 11 a.m.