Federal Aid Aims to Help Former Inmates Find and Retain Jobs

“If you want to know who your friends are, get yourself a jail sentence,” wrote Charles Bukowski.  This writer deemed a “laureate of American lowlife” by Timewas onto something.   While you’re in jail, it can feel obvious who really cares about you, but also afterward.

Trying to get a job after serving time in justice facilities is not an easy feat.  Plenty of employers are quick to discriminate against people with a record, no matter how well-suited the job candidate for the opening.

The reality is that without assistance, many former offenders find crime a lucrative alternative to unemployment.  Each year, approximately 650,000 inmates are released from state and federal prisons, and return to their communities and families.  Many of them find it difficult to find work.

The U.S. Department of Labor is backing ten organizations that are committed to helping people get back into the workforce after completing a jail sentence.  Each organization will receive grants of more than a million dollars each to  provide training, employment and support services for these job candidates.  This employment-centered approach to reintegration provides assistance with job training and employment preparation, mentoring and connections to support services such as housing, substance abuse programs and mental health treatment.

“The grants announced today are an investment not just in the futures of former inmates, but also in the communities and families to which they are returning,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.

The charitable organizations include The Dannon Project in Alabama, the National Urban League in New York, and the Cornerstone Assistance Network in Texas.