The CEO of a local staffing agency franchise has offered to assist the Blair County Prison Re-entry Coalition fulfillits mission of helping newly released inmates reintegrate into society.

“I have a passion to give (people) a second chance,” Alex Seltzer of Manpower told the coalition board at its most recent meeting.

At the meeting, Seltzer made tentative connections with coalition representatives who work with the Blair County Prison Society, the county probation office and the coalition subcommittee on education and employment.

Manpower engages with a handful of client companies that are OK with employment candidates whose background other companies might question and that offer jobs where potential for harm from problematic behavior is minimal, according to Seltzer.

Manpower is skilled at matching employment candidates and with employment positions, according to Seltzer.

Moreover, the agency and its client companies are willing to “brainstorm” about proper placement, he said.

“(Although) we’re not miracle workers,” he said. “We’re not successful every time.”

Transportation is sometimes an issue, he said.

But the agency “can work with that,” he said, explaining that he has created a document that explains local bus routes for employment candidates.

The agency struggles with finding people who will show up for work, according to Seltzer.

In his 45 years in the business, “finding reliable people has never been this hard,” he said.

COVID seems to have contributed to the problem, as has demography, he said.

“We’re aging out,” he said.

The Prison Society and the probation office could provide contact opportunities between inmates being released and Manpower, according to information presented at the meeting.

And the employment and education subcommittee is planning a fair chance hiring workshop that would welcome input from Manpower, the subcommittee chairwoman said.

“I’m very impressed with (Seltzer’s) willingness to help,” coalition Director Ken Dean said after the meeting.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.