Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • Austin youth re-entry program has 15% recidivism rate, compared to 75% nationwide

    Jail to Jobs pays youth while they get trained for jobs in construction, manufacturing, landscaping, and cooking. The youth come from youth detention, the streets, probation, and foster care and their trainers are formerly incarcerated. Jail to Jobs, with four locations in Austin, has helped more than 600 young people find employment despite their pasts. Only 15% of its graduates have been jailed afterward, a lower-than-average recidivism rate.

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  • Fighting plastic waste: a double-edged sword

    Teams of recyclers in Nigeria gather plastic bottles from the streets and landfills and brings them to recycling plants where they can exchange the waste for money. HISL Recyclers collects this waste — which usually contains polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, a dangerous chemical — as a way to remove the waste from the environment. However, more work needs to be done to get more people to participate in the program and to scale the operations. So far, they’ve been able to recycle up to 20 tonnes of plastic waste a month.

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  • St. Paul recruitment program aims to diversify police ranks

    To boost diversity in its ranks as part of its outreach to improve community relations, the St. Paul Police Department created a two-year apprenticeship program that makes law enforcement careers more accessible by clearing the financial and educational barriers that stand in the way. Eight program graduates now serve on the force and two dozen more are about to enter the next police academy. Nearly all are people of color and low-income, and nearly half are women. The program pays a stipend while students work in the community and take classes, with counseling and mentoring services.

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  • Affordable Manufacturing Space Is an Engine for Equitable Economic Development

    Affordable manufacturing spaces serve as community assets that can be a launchpad for economic development. A nonprofit in Pittsburgh offers an affordable space which has led to 100 percent capacity. The businesses renting space there have created 97 full-time jobs.

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  • How cutting trees can raise Detroiters' wages

    An energy company in Detroit is providing jobs, training programs, and wraparound services such as childcare and transportation, to residents who want to become woodsmen and tree cutters. The program is "geared to support 200 job candidates by 2024."

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  • How a program became a model for life after prison

    Colorado's Transforming Safety initiative empowers communities to decide how to use grant money to address high rates of recidivism. One community-chosen grantee is Colorado Springs Works, founded by a man who made a habit of asking those he was incarcerated with why they had been sent back to prison on parole violations. Lack of good jobs was a key reason, and so the program he created helps recently incarcerated people get job training and jobs on the outside.

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  • A way forward for employing people with disabilities in Lithuania

    Employment intermediaries from VšĮ SOPA act as workforce development counselors and recruiters for both employers and people with disabilities. By preparing people for jobs that fit their abilities, and then aiding in a job search, the intermediaries are able to place about half of their 100-plus clients in appropriate jobs. Common in Western Europe, where government funding enables such services, the service in Lithuania relies on private funding, which can be less stable. Jobs for people with disabilities provide self-confidence and independence.

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  • Startup Helps Those Affected By Gangs And Gun Violence Find A Way Out

    The boom in green-energy spending and government grants fuels the work of Leaders Before Legends, a Portland startup that lines up well-paying jobs installing solar panels and the like. The jobs go to people formerly incarcerated on charges related to gun violence. Leaders was founded by a man whose own gun-charge incarceration exposed him to the way that business people think. He turned that exposure into a mission to help others learn how to make money legally and safely. In the past year, the program has found work for 10 people. It is working to expand its city funding to scale up.

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  • Utah Co. jail has largest jail industries program nationwide, providing jobs and hope for inmates

    Nearly 10,000 people incarcerated in the Utah County Jail have found paid work in the community during their jail terms thanks to the sheriff's Jail Industries program. While the incarcerated people get to keep just 20% of their wages, and only people with low-level offenses may participate, about 70% who go through the program get offered permanent jobs when they're released, thanks to employers' satisfaction with the workers. Having a decent job is a critical factor in preventing future criminal offenses. Jail Industries graduates have shown lower than average recidivism rates.

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  • Recipes For A Revolution: Albergo Etico and the empowerment of those with disabilities

    Albergo Etico prepares people with disabilities for work in the hotel industry, using training based on the Montessori method. The "download" method helps people learn job skills at their own pace, translating lessons for people with various cognitive abilities. Training begins with their families, doing household chores in their own home. Trainees now work in eight Italian cities, plus three other countries. The investment pays off both economically and socially, as trainees gain autonomy and self-sufficiency.

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