120+ Murdered: Join via Zoom
to Pray for Our City... NOW!
Prayer is not the last resort, is it the first thing we should do when faced with trouble. Seven committed people have been praying for our city at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday mornings for more than two years, but they need help. Join the UNITE INDY prayer group —via Zoom or in person —to pray for our city, for those who are driven to violence, for those who have been lost, for their families, and for wisdom for our city's leaders - Mayor Hogsett, members of our City-County Council, IMPD Chief Taylor, and others. We're asking every Indianapolis area church to urge at least one member to take part. Please join us. For instructions to join the call, email Info@UniteIndy.org with the subject line, "Pray for our City." |
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Butler University Lacy School of Business' Second Chance Study Findings Revealed!
After many months, the Butler University Lacy School of Business study of ex-offenders in the workplace has come to an end. On July 28th, the findings will be revealed to a meeting of human resource professionals in Indianapolis. The study compared outcomes of employed justice-involved individuals with employees who have not had convictions.
These findings are probably not what you'd expect! We can divulge more next month, but it's safe to say, the stats are extremely important to our effort to find employment for reentrants into Central Indiana. We believe the evidence proves these men and women can be valuable additions to the companies they serve. Stay tuned.
Our thanks to the sponsors of this study, International Warehouse Logistics Association Warehousing Advocacy Fund, Allegiance Staffing, and UNITE INDY with support from the Indianapolis Foundation and Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic
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New Community Justice Center Gets Finishing Touches
Over the next five months the finishing touches will be completed on our state-of-the-art Indianapolis-Marion County Community Justice Center with inmate transfers likely taking place near the end of the year. Concurrently, UNITE INDY is preparing to provide three key services to those preparing for release from Central Indiana's county jails and prisons, where we will:
- Train
- Connect
- Empower
We will offer (No. 1 above) Jobs for Life, a job preparation training course to inmates preparing for release. A mentor will be assigned to each student to help them, not only during the course, but along their journey after release.
Upon release (No.2) SecondChanceIndy.com, a free UNITE INDY website, will supply the reentrant with hundreds of job listings posted by companies willing to offer a second chance, and the ability to apply online, as well as contacts for help in all areas of their journey. Meanwhile, caring mentors stick with them along the way to guide them over the rough spots.
Finally (No. 3) UNITE INDY will soon introduce the Indy Reentry Navigator, a smart phone app, to assist reentrant progression, step by step through the process, empowering them to claim the successful life they desire.
UNITE INDY is attacking recidivism and post-release poverty using this three-pronged approach to foster new futures, new results, healthier families and changed lives for all those we touch. More to come soon!
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Letter Writers Still Needed!
Thanks to all who have signed up to write letters to inmates! We had a great response from Nancy’s blog post and still need more! We are so proud of this amazing community of writers who care enough to speak into the lives of those behind bars, but we need you to join us. Imagine being alone and in prison without a friend with whom you could share your thoughts. You can be that powerful voice in someone's darkest times. Please go to this link and sign up. As we’ve said, “no heavy lifting required,” just a willing heart. Click Here to Sign Up!
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What Becomes The Truth?
Nancy’s recent blog post concerns a lovely village in England that unwittingly has ties to the evil Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels—the man responsible for successfully brainwashing wary German citizens into being hard-core haters and puppets for the Nazi regime. How did he do it? The big question is: Are we hearing the same things today? It can happen again and it can happen here. It’s a good read that might even make you smile! (I mean, just look at those silly hats!) Click Here to read the post.
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Bad News For Payday Lenders!
We are encouraged that Congress has closed a loophole that allowed payday lenders to avoid state interest rate caps.
While payday lenders are regulated at the state level, they could partner with banks holding a national charter, which are not subject to individual state usury laws.
Using this loophole, they could and did raise annual interest rates to astounding levels on large installment loans. For example, a lender operating under the name Elevate, lawfully made loans in another state at annual rates as high as 299 percent.
UNITE INDY continues to support the work of organizations that oppose onerous lending practices aimed at those in poverty here. Local efforts to set a lower annual interest cap in Indiana are ongoing!
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Why Support UNITE INDY?
In addition to a major effort to work with the 12,000 inmates reentering our area after incarceration, we are working to improve employment in our poorest neighborhoods.
How You Can Support Jobs for Justice- Involved Individuals
3. Become a Member - Your tax deductible gift will buy either 5 Student Workbooks for a class or 10 meals for students, their mentors, and instructors to gather around a table before each class, sharing food, transforming the moment into something more unique by creating a sense of community, which strengthens the relationship building process.
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Support of Ministries and Charities:
Since 2017 UNITE INDY has provided a free web-based system at UNITEINDY.org that connects churches, ministries, and other charities to share their volunteer needs or needed items. UNITE INDY also provides the manpower necessary to assist smaller organizations—that have no one to upload needed items—the help they require to access this service. Through this portal, UNITE INDY has brought hundreds of volunteers and thousands of dollars worth of needed goods into the hands of those who assist the poor.
Serving the Servants:
UNITE INDY comes behind urban pastors and ministry leaders by addressing personal and professional needs with free services for those who work tirelessly in their neighborhoods to care for the needy and bereft.
Remember, almost 1 out of every 3 children in Indianapolis lives below the poverty level, yet even in the aftermath of the COVID shut down, as our economy comes back to life and employment is returning, all this good news stops at the lines surrounding many of our inner city neighborhoods. In some neighborhoods of Marion County unemployment is now 21%, and poverty remains the overwhelming divider of people.
Please donate to UNITE INDY now. There are a number of choices that are all secure and safe. By sending your fully tax deductible gift* now we can have a greater impact meeting needs in our community in 2021.
Many, many thanks!
*UNITE INDY, Inc. is approved under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 501(c)(3) as a Public Charity, donors can deduct contributions they make under IRC Section 170.
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Corporate Partners
A big Thank YOU to our Corporate Partners for their unwavering support which makes it possible for us to provide our services at no charge to job applicants and employers!
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