Job Support/ Drivers License Restoration

On the job training and job search support.

Combining work experience with daily training and job search activities, we enroll some 30 men and women annually in our workforce development initiative. Trainees work and learn toward employment or acceptance in career-advancing education and training. All trainees  connect with us through Mercer County’s One Stop Career Resource Center.

Trainees spend mornings in an Arm In Arm  food pantry, where they assist customers, assess inventory, and keep shelves stocked. As in any well-run retail workplace, Arm In Arm’s food pantry staff and volunteers strive to provide great customer service, and our workforce trainees are a big part of it as they contribute to an atmosphere of hospitality, friendliness, and efficiency.

Trainees build stronger resumes and make themselves marketable in several ways:

  • Working and gaining experience in customer service, inventory, and food handling in our Client Choice pantries
  • Occasional office assistance
  • Increased comfort and computer literacy with online learning platforms, job applications, and correspondence
  • Pursuit of career-related education through online certificate courses in safe food handling (ServSafe) 
  • Discussions of interview skills and job search success with representatives from area businesses such as Starbucks
  • Workshops led by partner agencies such as Dress for Success (job search techniques and support) and Family Guidance Center (financial literacy and credit counseling)
  • Individualized guidance in online job applications, interview skills, and work habits
  • In 2018, Workforce Development program members earned positions at Clarity Labs, Rite Aid, Dollar Tree, I H Services, Atrium Post-Acute Care of Princeton, and Two Enterprises, among others.

Problems with your driver’s license? Learn about our License to Succeed Program Below. 

About License to Succeed

A driver’s license is often a key to job readiness, as employers in many fields require job applicants to possess a valid license. However, a $50 or $75 parking or toll fine that a driver with a middle income pays without a thought quickly becomes unmanageable for a very low-income person. The unpaid fine snowballs into revocation of driving privileges and, ultimately, a severe job and family hardship. Through License to Succeed, Arm In Arm improves job prospects for adults, many of them parents who receive public assistance. With driver’s licenses restored and fines and fees resolved, adults are freed from relying on restrictive bus routes to travel between work and child care and can qualify for jobs in more fields of employment. Calvin Brown shares his License to Succeed story here.

The only non-profit organization in Mercer County that provides license restoration assistance, Arm In Arm works with other agencies and with our own workforce development trainees and other clients, providing administrative assistance and partial aid to jumpstart and supplement clients’ stake in paying fines and reinstatement fees and to establish manageable payment plans.

Stories by National Public Radio (December 29, 2014; January 5, 2015) and The New York Times reveal a growing public awareness about the economic effects of license suspensions. The stories echo those of men and women who turn to License to Succeed: They want to improve their earning power through a restored license, but are not able to pay the accumulated fines, court fees, and restoration costs. Job-hunters lacking a driver’s license are restricted to local employers they can reach via public transportation; have limited child care options; and do not qualify for jobs that require a license including security, custodial, home health care aides, warehouse, and driver positions.

To apply, email drive@arminarm.org with your full name, phone number, and address. Applicants should obtain all required paperwork (listed below) before emailing.

I want to apply to License to Succeed

Am I eligible?

  • I am a Mercer County resident
  • My NJ driving privileges are suspended, and I wish to restore my license for better job opportunities
  • Assessment of my eligibility will be based on my income, total amount of fines, my previous efforts to pay, and my ability to sustain monthly installments if applicable

Required for License to Succeed applicants

  • Current resume and proof of active job search
  • Photo Identification
  • Proof of household income for one month, such as your most recent pay or benefits stub
  • NJ MVC Fee Payment Authorization Form (pink form)
  • NJ MVC printout of unresolved tickets, by municipality
  • From NJ MVC, obtain contact info for collection agency handling surcharges
  • From NJ MVC, verify whether driver exam and road test are required
  • For TANF recipients only: letter of denial from Roads to Success
  • Email drive@arminarm.org to begin your application process. Include your full name, phone number, and address in your email message. Please obtain the required information above before emailing us. You will receive a reply email with further instructions within two business days.

License to Succeed launched in 2009 with initial funding from the Karma Foundation, and has received grant support from the Social Outreach Committee of Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, Truist Foundation, Friendship Baptist Church of Trenton, the Junior League of Greater Princeton, and the Zonta Club of Trenton/Mercer.

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