STRONG – Workers who lost their jobs at Forster Inc. last spring are expected to receive an extra boost from a $247,776 National Emergency Grant awarded Thursday.

U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins announced that they had secured the grant from the Department of Labor to help workers laid off from Forster.

Jim Trundy, program manager for the Western Maine Community Action, said his agency will oversee the grant to help at least 45 of the 98 workers dislocated from Forster’s. That’s in addition to funds provided through the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which the company’s workers qualified for this summer.

Forster’s parent company, Jarden Corp., announced in January that it would close its Strong plant in June. Plant employees made wooden toothpicks and clothespins among other products.

About 88 employees lost their jobs at the Strong plant and another 10 employees lost their jobs in the box department in East Wilton.

Community Action applied for this emergency grant, which will provide employment transition services through the CareerCenter for the dislocated workers, Trundy said.

The money is funneled through the Maine Department of Labor to Western Maine Community Action for its staff to work directly with people in need.

Transition services include: career planning, occupational training, entrepreneurial training, skills upgrading, adult education and literacy job readiness training, according to a press release from the senators’ offices.

Laid-off workers may also be eligible for support services, such as transportation, child and other dependent care, general and job-related clothing, certain medical and health needs, emergency shelters, automobile repair and insurance, and other emergency needs not available through local service agencies.

Relocation and out-of-area job search assistance is also provided for those interested in the option.

The grant also helps pay for staff to work with the people out of work.

Currently one of the problems, Trundy said, is that the demand often is greater than the services available. The money will allow Community Action to provide a broader scope of services to the workers in need, Trundy said.

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