Two Cleveland Nonprofits Win Fed Grants Aimed at Making Ex-offenders More Employable

(Plain Dealer) - Towards Employment has received a $2 million federal grant to create a comprehensive program aimed at helping those recently released from prison successfully complete job training, get hired and keep jobs.
The Cleveland organization was one of only 17 nationwide to share in nearly $30 million in grants the Labor Department made to adult re-entry programs. The department also awarded $44 million to programs for young people, including those offering services to help seal juvenile records. Volunteers of America Greater Ohio in Brecksville received nearly $1.4 million under this program.

"This is really game changing," said Jill Rizika, Towards Employment's executive director, of the grant.

The organization's mission includes helping ex-offenders find and keep jobs. Despite this, she said it would have been difficult to have "pieced together" enough funding for all the components needed for a comprehensive program. For example, the nonprofit had secured funding for soft skills training aimed at helping participants perform well in jobs. However, finding funding for technical, or other training need for many in-demand positions, was more difficult.

Now with one sizable chunk of funding, Rizika said it will be easier to fashion a seamless program for 250 adults, beginning while they are still in halfway houses. 

"We want to connect with people while they are still in work release to remove the barriers," she said. "We want to make sure they have foundational skills to enter technical training, support them through technical training, and then connect them to jobs and (employment) retention support."

Phillip Nunes, executive vice president of program operations for Volunteers of America Greater Ohio, said the grant will be used to provide intensive case management, job placement and job retention services for 16 to 21-year-olds in Cuyahoga County involved in the juvenile justice system. He said few programs address this age group in this way, so the program -- that will serve up to 100 young people a year -- will forge a new ground.

"This population often falls through the cracks, Nunes said.

During the Thursday news conference announcing the grants, Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said the goal was to support programs that "implode silos that all too frequently prevented sufficient collaboration between agencies."

Towards Employment's program, that will provide wraparound supportive services to keep participants on track, will be a collaborative effort. The organization is partnering with two other nonprofits, Oriana House and the Salvation Army, for the initiative. Towards Employment is coordinating with at least another dozen agencies in providing services for the participants, ranging from substance abuse counseling to help with improving literacy.

The program will emphasize training participants for jobs in manufacturing, construction and hospitality. Cuyahoga Community College will provide the manufacturing and construction training. WIRE-Net, the non-profit focused on the manufacturing sector, will assist with the curriculum. EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute, which trains ex-offenders for hospitality careers and runs a restaurant on Shaker Square, will provide the training in that field.

"It is really about putting all those pieces together, and making sure someone can really make a successful transition from work release status to fully-employed, tax-paying citizen," Rizika said.

(Source)