Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries Inc. has hired a person to manage the next steps of an initiative to help grow the region’s workforce by helping residents overcome barriers to employment.

In the role of community solutions director, Carol Holmes-Chambers will oversee the implementation of initiatives from the agency’s recent Community Needs Assessment, done in partnership with the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber.

Her responsibilities include facilitating collaboration among stakeholders, coordinating committees and ensuring that the outcomes create sustainable change, a news release states.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to work alongside the community with people just as passionate about making a positive difference in our valley,” she said. “There is tremendous power in the collaboration of people united toward a common goal that transcends individual interests. I’m eager to see which mountains we can move.”

Most recently, Holmes-Chambers was director of school and community wellness for the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board. She helped develop the Trumbull-Mahoning RISE Community Collaborative, a coalition that’s part of the Health Equity and Cultural Competence Plan.

Said Shelley Murray, Goodwill CEO, Holmes-Chambers’ “passion, expertise and dedication make her the perfect fit for this critical role and will be key in advancing our mission to empower individuals and strengthen our community by building on the groundwork already in place for change.”

The announcement Thursday follows news Monday the effort received a $50,000 grant from the PNC Foundation, the philanthropic arm of PNC Bank. In addition to the latest grant, other funds have come from the Youngstown Foundation, Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation and Western Reserve Health Foundation.

The assessment, released in April, found the top challenges were transportation, childcare, mental health and substance abuse issues and life skills / soft skills.

The grant funding, announced Monday, will go toward a collaborative effort of community and government leaders, employers and others to remove the barriers through communications, training and long-term planning efforts.