Catholic Charities recently hosted a hiring event at St. Elizabeth Catholic Community Center in Rockford. We picked a day close to St. Joseph’s Day since Jesus’ foster father is the patron of workers.

We hoped his quiet devotion to family and work would subtly inspire those who were hiring and those who were looking. He did.

Seventeen employers participated and 80-plus prospective employees turned out to learn what opportunities are available in Rockford’s still troubled economy. Businesses, governments and agencies participated and people actually got hired. One individual burst out the front door and shouted, “I got a job; I got hired.” Others were referred to the participants’ hiring departments. Still others enrolled in our job search, interviewing and resume-writing skills program.

Ignoring the unemployment statistics and generalized data, for the man who shouted to the world and the others who have connected and been hired, there is now full employment. There is a return to the dignity of work, of supporting self or family; of positively affecting a home, a neighborhood, a community. There is a renewed enthusiasm for life.    

So we need to take this on the road. Too many are unemployed across the 11 counties of the diocese and we need to organize and deliver hiring events in other communities.

Too many people who want to work don’t know where to go, what skills they need, or whether they lack the “right” kind of education in a changing economy. We need to partner with other faiths, Chambers of Commerce and United Ways to help others back to meaningful employment.

As we have developed and are now launching the Project HIRE — Helping Individuals Regain Employment — program through St. Elizabeth’s, we see how many unemployed are eager to provide for their families, and give back once employed.

They know the importance of efforts to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless and perform other acts of mercy. They have experienced the discomfort of asking for help from others. Individuals who have accepted assistance from strangers in the Church often display an almost urgent need to help someone else.

Illinois continues to experience a soft economy with high unemployment. But for every problem there is an opportunity. Businesses who can identify a job opening and are willing to consider a non-traditional hiring of someone who is motivated to work and support self and family, and participate in the community, please contact us.

The unemployment tracks of this area’s economy run parallel with efforts to place people in difficult, sometimes entry-level jobs that offer distant hope along with an immediate pay check. Surviving and thriving in a capitalist economy means identifying and using human capital, too.

Everyone wins when people can work.

St. Joseph, patron of workers, pray for us.