New Orleans Stop of 2009 Louisiana Job Fairs Slated for Tuesday

As part of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the Department of Social Services will host the New Orleans stop of the 2009 Louisiana Job Fairs on Tuesday, Oct. 20 from 9am - noon at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Avenue in Metairie. The job fairs are aimed to help move job ready citizens with disabilities toward greater self-sufficiency by connecting them with the business community.

The job fairs, which are free to both employers and job seekers, will include booths from a number of community partners who provide resources and services to individuals with disabilities. This year information sessions and seminars will include Social Security counseling from the Louisiana Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (La-WIPA) Coalition.

The job fair in New Orleans is part of nine jobs fairs being held across the state during October to coincide with Disability Employment Awareness Month in Louisiana, which was proclaimed by Governor Bobby Jindal. The remaining stops for this year's 2009 job fair include Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Monroe, and Houma. Job fairs have already taken place in Shreveport, Lake Charles and the Northshore.

Since the job fair initiative began six years ago, more than 7,200 job seekers have connected with more than 840 businesses across the state.

Louisiana Rehabilitation Services (LRS), an agency under DSS, is sponsoring the 2009 Louisiana Job Fairs along with the Department of Health & Hospitals' Medicaid Purchase Plan, Work Pays, the Louisiana Workforce Commission, the Governor's Office of Disability Affairs and other sponsors.

LRS's Vocational Rehabilitation program offers individuals with disabilities services designed to provide them with skills, resources, attitudes and expectations needed to find employment and develop a lifelong career. LRS supports the Randolph-Sheppard Business Enterprise Program, which provides citizens who are blind with training and self-supports to own and operate a business.

More on the job fair, including registration information for employers can be found at www.dss.louisiana.gov.