T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY House of Compassion Executive Director Chad Hammar is leading a new jobs program seeking to connect clients with employers and training in the Marshalltown area.

It’s hard to find an employer that isn’t looking to hire right now, and House of Compassion Executive Director Chad Hammar wants to help the people he serves connect with their next job in whatever way he can.

Hammar, who took on his role earlier this year, doesn’t have an official name for his new jobs program yet, but he hopes to form long-lasting bonds with area businesses while reintegrating his clients into the workforce.

“One of the things that jumped out at us was there are a large number of our clients that are not working, and we cannot see that there’s a reason for that — in other words, there are no disability payments (or) things of that nature,” Hammar said. “That’s when I really got to thinking about this, and that’s when I met with Iowa Valley, IowaWorks and TLC Associates to try and put together kind of a partnership, if you will.”

The project has been months in the making, and Hammar expects it to fully take off by January of 2022. His goal is to approach the root causes of why people aren’t working and address concerns like mental health if they create a barrier to gainful employment.

“We went into this knowing that it’s going to take some time to get them to truly open up about some of the reasons they’re not working,” Hammar said. “It’s a long-term view, and it needs a long-term view. But I really am excited about the possibilities.”

The House of Compassion is currently serving about 140 families and 400 individuals per month, and the number continues to climb. Now that the “awkward conversations” phase is through, Hammar is excited to get the jobs program rolling full speed ahead and take a deep dive into real solutions.

“The entire purpose of this thing is to get them to a point where they never have to come back here again unless they want to volunteer,” he said. “This is not something we’re just going to try and give up on. This is a new cornerstone of what we’re about here.”

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com