Goodwill’s Job-Link bus brings employment opportunities to Golden Gate

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Credit: WINK News

People looking for work in Golden Gate were able to visit a “one-stop shop” Wednesday as the Goodwill Mobile Job-Link bus stopped by.

Giancarlos Castano, Job-Link coordinator, knows the impact of COVID-19, as he has seen it first-hand.

“A lot of people lost their job; a lot of people didn’t lose their job but they have to leave their job because they have to take the care of the children because a lot of the day cares and everything just closed down,” he said.

As food pantry lines grow longer, Castano and his team help people find work through Goodwill’s Job-Link program.

“Lesser mobility is one of the issues right now because the gas costs money and people have no money,” Castano said.

So, they bring the job search to the people. A bus full of computers, Wi-Fi, and job listings, the mobile lab travels around Southwest Florida with local food banks. Some picked up meals and then searched for a job.

“I’ve been looking on Craigslist and see what I can find, but the bottom line is there’s so many people out of work, if you see a job that’s online and apply for it, how many other people are applying?” said Willie Rivera of Naples, who stopped by the site on Wednesday.

“We try to provide for them a peace of mind and physical help,” Castano said.

Goodwill’s Job-Link can also assist with unemployment. The mobile bus will be in Cape Coral on Thursday and Friday. You can find a list of locations here.

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