The Jacksonville Transportation Authority is partnering with the Sulzbacher Center to help homeless women dress for success.
JTA employees opened a “Career Closet” at Sulzbacher Village on the Northside Thursday where the women who live there can get professional attire for things like job interviews.
JTA board member Ari Jolly says having the right clothes to wear is a confidence-builder.
“It allows you to focus on talking about your skill-sets and having the appropriate rapport with the potential employer—you don’t have to worry about your clothes.”
Sulzbacher Village resident Jennifer Bloom agrees. Bloom is a Navy veteran with grown kids. She says her future was looking bright—and then she became homeless.
“My car got stolen and I lost my job and I had to drop out of nursing school and I’m 58-years-old. So I was very close to having financial security and just kind of got the rug pulled out from under me and so this is very helpful.”
Bloom is currently taking a culinary class offered by FSCJ at Sulzbacher Village.
The 70 unit apartment complex for poor and homeless women and families opened this past May.
Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 and on Twitter @cydwjctnews.