PRESTONSBURG — Victims of this year’s mass layoffs in coal, manufacturing and other top Eastern Kentucky industries will have the chance to connect with expert help to navigate the unemployment insurance system, get mortgage and tax assistance, and train for new careers at two upcoming Eastern Kentucky Assistance Benefits Fairs coming to Prestonsburg and Pikeville.

Set for Aug. 28 at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg and Sept. 10 at the East Kentucky Expo Center in Pikeville, the fairs will place the region’s increasing population of dislocated workers in contact with the many services and benefits that can help them move forward after their layoffs.

Both fairs are sponsored by the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP) in partnership with Big Sandy Health Care, Inc., and will start at 10 a.m. and run through 6 p.m. in Prestonsburg and 5 p.m. in Pikeville.

“Our region is currently experiencing huge dislocations within certain sectors, with coal mining being the hardest hit,” said EKCEP’s Bridget Back. “It is because of this, that we are pulling together various community partners and agencies to host this series of fairs around the region.

“The fairs will help educate laid-off workers on the many services and benefits offered to them,” Back continued, “as well as put them in direct contact with the agencies supplying those services.”

In addition to EKCEP and Big Sandy Health Care, other partners who will be present include:

• Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation

• Kentucky Office of Employment and Training (OET)

• Kentucky Adult Education

• Kentucky Community Technical and College System (KCTCS)

• Kentucky Housing Corporation

• Eastern Kentucky University

• Local County Extension Offices

• Local Family Resource Centers

Additional agencies will be on hand to provide information on mental health counseling, legal advice, tax and retirement advice, and Vocational Rehabilitation.

All participating agencies will discuss their services one-on-one in detail, and let job fair participants know how to apply.

Back stressed that attendance at these fairs will not affect any benefits participating laid-off workers are currently receiving.

“Any and all benefits will remain intact,” she said. “These fairs are meant to provide important information so they will know where to go and how to apply for help when the time comes. Attendance does not obligate them for any service in any way.”

As for direct job leads, local OET offices will be at the events to deliver information on job opportunities in the region.

Various employers will also be present to take job applications, including:

• Arch Coal, which is hiring for its West Virginia mining operations

• Kelly Services, which hires for positions at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky assembly plant in Georgetown

• Manpower

The events are the latest in a series of highly successful benefits fairs hosted this summer by EKCEP and other partners, including Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation. Fairs held in Whitesburg, Hazard, and Harlan drew a total of more than 550 laid-off workers.

According to Back, the need for such events has scarcely been greater.

“Since January 1, we have had over 2,254 people laid off in our region,” she said. “However, coal jobs aren’t all we’ve lost. We don’t have a huge manufacturing presence in our area, and what we do have has experienced large layoffs this year, too. We have seen Tru Seal Technologies close in Knox County, as well as American Woodmark in Perry County.”

Additionally, EKCEP’s 23-county service area recorded an unemployment rate of 11.9 percent in June compared to 8.4 percent throughout Kentucky. And Eastern Kentucky’s percentage is poised to increase further because many workers affected by mass coal mining layoffs in June will not enter the unemployment rolls until this fall when severances run out.

For more information on the Eastern Kentucky Assistance Benefits Fairs, contact Bridget Back at (606) 435-8486 or (606) 634-2281, or via email at bback@ekcep.org.