BIGGER AND BETTER:
April 19th Second Chance Indy Job Fair
Working with the Indiana Department of Corrections and a team of committed organizations, UNITE INDY will join with 23 second chance employers, vocational trainers, resource providers, and others to help those with a criminal record put history behind them through the dignity of work. Attendees will be able to apply for jobs, get help with all kinds of resource issues, including criminal record expungement, and take advantage of free hair cuts, free bus passes, as well as free professional work attire. Even phones and tablets may be free to those who qualify.
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Already more than 100 reentrants have pre-registered, and we expect 500 or more to take advantage of these opportunities. Statistics show a job quickly landed after release from incarceration can drive down recidivism by 90%. If you remove the human factor, the cost savings to Indiana taxpayers are huge. But, most important is the life-changing impact of learning a trade, working with a team, and having real responsibilities that supply a dependable income for reentrants and their families. Click here to pre-register. PHOTO Above, From the last Second Chance Job Fair: A small percentage of the men and women who came ready to apply for jobs and crowded in filling out applications.
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RecyleForce Hosts UNITE INDY To Celebrate Their Partnership
Greg Keesling and RecycleForce have been on the forefront of employing justice involved individuals well before the rest of the world had realized their value as employees. Having worked together on numerous projects, RecycleForce CEO Keesling invited the team from UNITE INDY to get a tour and update on the companies' operations, and share a lunch of authentic Jamaican Jerk Chicken from Shells' Authentic Jamaican Kitchen. Greg's employees often have criminal records that can make them difficult to place in a job. But like everyone who wants a second chance, most these folks begin to claim a better life under the caring auspices of Greg and his team.
PHOTO: left to right, UI's Molly Oliver, RecycleForce Director of Inventory & Quality Control Andrew King, UI's Sherry Jackson, UI's Jim Cotterill, UI's Scott Whiting, UI's Lamon Rush, UI's Doug Evans, RecycleForce CEO Gregg Keesling.
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BRAIN TRUST:
Top Indy Mentoring Reps Gather to Help Reentrants
A dozen representatives of the best local mentoring organizations met this month at UNITE INDY to discuss supplying their trained mentors to help those going through UI’s job training program and on through release from incarceration. Together with UI, these groups are ready to prepare volunteers to guide reentrants through the difficult months following release from long-term incarceration. UNITE INDY is now developing a selection of mentoring opportunities that range from a small amount of contact to in person, hands on help.
PHOTO: Back row: L to R: John Mauser, Reformed Presbyterian Church of South Side Indianapolis; Chas Schaffernoth, Century 21 Real Estate; Eldon Kibbey, Christian Business Men's Connection; Matt Mugumya, Castleton Community Church; Damon Lane, Manhood Ministries; Scott Whiting, UNITE INDY; Front row L to R: Ray Bland, Retired, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Doug Evans and Jim Cotterill, UNITE INDY. Not pictured: Ed Witulski, Trusted Mentors; Marcus Schrader, Workforce Chaplains; Chad Temple, Indy Network; Ian Cox, Park 100 Foods
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UNITE INDY EMPLOYER PARTNER:
Volumod Offers Financial Literacy Classes at 30th & Post Road
In a community space dubbed P30 (for 30th & Post Road), financial literacy classes are helping "students" build a better and more secure future. P30 is located in the expansive Volumod buiding, where employees, including second chance workers, build pre-fab homes. But the folks at Volumod realized that many of their employees needed more information about money management and financial literacy. UNITE INDY suggested they bring in the folks at North Park Community Credit Union to teach classes in the P30 space, classes that are open to the public on Tuesdays, 3:30 - 4:30 pm.
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Volumod is a UNITE INDY Employer Partner, deeply committed to hiring reentrants, and providing good jobs in the neighborhood. If knowledge is power, then financial knowledge is a powerful foundation that will support successful families in the future! Well done, Volumod!
Pictured: From Left Marco Dominguez, Chief Community Outreach Officer and Lindsey Phelps, Financial Education Loan Officer
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WOMAN TO WOMAN:
Ladies In The Indiana Women’s Prison To Get Letters?
With a steady flow of letters from people serving long-term prison sentences, we are always looking for volunteers who want to speak friendship and care into the lives of many who have been forgotten. We recently heard from a church, whose women’s group specifically asked to be able to correspond with incarcerated women. Right now we are working hard to expand this ministry into the Indiana Women’s Prison. We are working with officials and hoping for approval to begin our campaign of support. Hopefully by next month, we can report a new and exciting effort that will be a blessing to many—both inside and outside prison walls! For more information on UNITE INDY’s Correspondence Team, contact Sara Cobb, here. |
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A LOOK BACK:
From A Tiny Acorn...
Buried in the book of Ecclesiastes is the concept that if we wait for all conditions to be ideal, we will never sow a seed or reap a harvest. It is also said, “From a tiny acorn a mighty oak doth grow,” a quote that has inspired so many who have begun a work because of a nagging feeling that ‘something needs to be done.’ That was six years ago. Today, UNITE INDY works with more than 40 employers who offer jobs for reentrants on our SecondChanceIndy.com website. We provide job training, available both in jails and after release, and within the next 12 months 20 vans will be taking reentrants to jobs all over Central Indiana, because the two greatest causes of recidivism are lack of a job and lack of dependable transportation. We are no fig tree and we have been blessed with much fruit. Read more here! |
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Why Support UNITE INDY?
Our major focus is to assist the 12,000 inmates returning to Central Indiana after long-term jail sentences. UNITE INDY provides mentored job training inside the jail, and a website for those with a criminal record, SecondChanceIndy.com, filled with job openings offered by our Second Chance employer partners.
These jobs are powerful weapons with which to fight poverty in our neighborhoods.
How You Can Support Jobs for Justice- Involved Individuals
3. 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
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Support of Ministries and Charities:
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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