Group Gives Welfare Recipients A Leg Up [AUDIO]

ST. CLOUD -- A local non-profit organization is helping to get people off of public assistance programs and into full-time jobs.

Resource opened its doors in a new office in the Midtown Square Mall on April 1st. The organization is providing help to those on welfare in Stearns and Benton Counties.

Julie Kizlik is the director of the employment action center. She says it's all about helping people reconnect with the working world.

Workshops, skills and resume training are just a few services being provided. Kelly Matter is the president of Resource. She says they are looking to empower those seeking help.

Over 1,000 people are currently getting help from the group in Central Minnesota. Kizlik says they are seeing many single parents and recently unemployed coming through their doors. But she says she is noticing a willingness to get back to work.

Resource is the largest private provider of welfare-to-work services in the state. They employ 25 people in St. Cloud. The program is made possible through funds from the federal government.

The non-profit organization has been in Central Minnesota since 1989.