All Tammie Brown needed was an employer willing to take a chance.
Since her release from prison in August, the Lakeland woman's primary goal has been to get a job. But every time she checked "yes" on the part of an application that asks about a criminal record, her heart sank.
"I wanted to give up, but I couldn't," she said. "I work hard, but I couldn't get anyone to even look at me."
Thanks to an open-minded staffing agency, however, Brown is starting the year with a new job.
Brown now works for Modular Solid Surface, a manufacturing company in Lakeland, where she helps make kitchen counters.
It's hard work, but Brown is thrilled to be bringing home a paycheck for the first time in months.
"It feels real good," she said.
Brown, 39, got the job after Luke Dickerson saw an article in The Ledger, featuring Brown, about the difficulty ex-offenders have finding work.
Dickerson, who works for a staffing agency in Lakeland, asked that the company not be named because he prefers to
evaluate candidates on a case-by-case basis.
Dickerson said he thought Brown deserved a chance and said she's doing well in her new job.
"Her boss is very pleased with her," he said. "I think it worked out great for her."
Brown, who served 14 months for battery on a law enforcement officer, spent more than three months looking for a job. She applied for work in factories and warehouses, on production lines and at temp agencies -- all with no results.
After the article in The Ledger, however, she got several job offers. About five area businesses, including a Lakeland deli, two Lakeland factories and a Bartow manufacturing company, offered Brown a job.
She went with the staffing agency because the job at Modular Solid Surface pays $8 an hour -- more than minimum wage -and she can take the bus there.
"I talked to them on Wednesday. Thursday, I went to work," she said.
For Brown, getting a job wasn't just about making a living. It was also a condition she had to meet to keep custody of her 10-yearold son, Darrell.
Now, she can breathe a little easier.
"It gives (me) a little more security," she said. "That was the only thing that I was missing, just a job."
For his part, Darrell is also pleased his mother is working.
"Now he gets an allowance. He likes that," Brown said, laughing.
