Screen Shot 2021-09-09 at 1.23.36 PM.png

MARCH 2022

LinkedIn Share This Newsletter
Screen Shot 2022-02-18 at 2.18.10 PM.png

The rock star management team at Pioneer in Mason, Ohio prove second chances are good for business.

Screen Shot 2022-02-18 at 3.15.18 PM.png

Damascus celebrates five-year partnership with southwest Ohio employment partner


Nearly 700 individuals in the Cincinnati region have received the opportunity to start over, gain permanent employment and begin a new chapter as tax-paying citizens, thanks to the good work and talented staff of Pioneer Cladding and Glazing, located in Mason, Ohio.


"We believe in second chances, obviously," said David Hensley, Pioneer's Shop Safety Specialist "And we definitely learned a whole lot along the way."


A manufacturer that specializes in exterior facade and custom unitized curtain walls, Pioneer began hiring Damascus workers in 2016; it was the first Cincinnati-based employer to pilot the Damascus Reentry Model. After five years and hundreds of winning workplace stories, Pioneer and Damascus celebrate the success of marrying strong business principles with innovative reentry strategies.


"So much of what we've learned about a truly successful economic partnership has come from our time with Pioneer," said Damascus Chief Strategy Officer Christine Marallen. "We've stayed in the trenches together, figured out how to zig and zag, and hundreds of lives and families have been changed because of that."


Not only has Pioneer welcomed, trained, and supported individuals who are returning to society and the workplace, they have promoted some of those workers into leadership positions at their plant. Pioneer works closely with the entire Damascus team and most closely with the Client Rep who selects and walks alongside the workers who are a good fit for Pioneer.


"Damascus does what it says it's going to do, every time," said Pioneer's Hensley. "I can't count on that from other (organizations). "Damascus has a great team of people. Otherwise, we wouldn't still be doing this with them."


At any given time, 20-50 Damascus individuals begin work at Pioneer for a 90-day temp-to-hire work plan. The goal is always permanent employment.


"It's reentry that works," said Marallen.

Damascus is a 501(c)(3) prison, reentry and staffing organization headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Your contribution is tax-deductible. It also changes the world.

GIVE TO DAMASCUS
IMG_1912.jpg

Pioneer Shop Safety Specialist David Hensley

SOCF 3ERH-2.jpeg
Click here to learn more about Damascus Workforce Solutions
Screen Shot 2022-02-18 at 2.14.53 PM.png

Above: the Damascus Team continues to assist Pioneer staff with meeting their workforce goals.

GCF logo.png
Screen Shot 2022-03-02 at 1.08.05 PM.png

Damascus and Talbert House Pathways team review employment goals together.

Screen Shot 2022-03-02 at 1.21.13 PM.png
Screen Shot 2022-03-02 at 1.09.08 PM.png

Damascus and VOA Cincinnati staff kick off a renewed approach to community mobility together.

Damascus increases regional reentry employment efforts in partnership with the Greater Cincinnati Foundation

In an effort to place more individuals who are returning home to the Cincinnati region into permanent employment, Damascus has amplified its partnership with local halfway houses, a project supported by the Greater Cincinnati Foundation.


As the region's leading community foundation, Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) connects people with purpose in an eight-county region in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. GCF is leading the change toward a more vibrant Greater Cincinnati for everyone--now, and for generations to come.


In that one of the overarching goals of the Damascus Reentry Model is to help close the gaps for those returning home from incarceration, and to subsequently accelerate mobility, alignment with GCF's mission and initiatives is a true community win-win.


"The partnership and financial support of Greater Cincinnati Foundation marks an important strengthening of our game changing model for reentry" said Damascus CEO Todd Marallen. "The region and those we help are better served through our combined efforts."


Enhancing the work started in 2015 with Talbert House Pathways and Volunteers of America Cincinnati locations, Damascus will continue to place men and women into temp-to-permanent employment in the region, offering free transportation to/from Damascus employment partner sites.


More information about the Greater Cincinnati Foundation and its initiatives can be found at www.gcfdn.org.

Click here to learn more about Damascus Community Mobility

Damascus Reentry Graduate + Driver: Jeremy Hablutzel

Jeremy Hablutzel called the Damascus Reentry Class that he graduated from in 2019 at Madison Correctional Institution "a reality check." He calls his new job as a Damascus Transportation Rep a "real opportunity."


"Driving for Damascus gives me a chance to help myself and it lets me give an opportunity to others by getting them to work every day," said Jeremy.


Jeremy is part of a larger Damascus team that provides free transportation to workers as they return to the workforce post-incarceration. As a Damascus driver, Jeremy picks up individuals in the region from halfway houses or other spots and takes them to the Damascus employment partner sites. He also ensures individuals get to employment orientations and back safely to wherever they're staying. Jeremy is the first Graduate to apply for the driver role and traces his interest all the way back to the prison classroom, where he first met the Damascus Team.


"It was a good vibe then and I could tell that (Damascus) was for real," he said. "I want to be part of something like that."


When first home from incarceration, Jeremy worked at two of the Damascus employment partner sites before deciding that his sobriety needed his full attention. Today, he is clean, sober, and ready to be part of the solution for others.


As Damascus expands throughout the region, the need for drivers who want to actively promote the mission grows as well. For more information, visit www.teamdamascus.com.

Donate to Damascus Transportation
Hablutzel 2.jpeg
Hablutzel drive 1.jpeg

Damascus Presents on Second-Chance Hiring at We Mean Business Conference

Screen Shot 2022-02-21 at 12.56.10 PM.png
Screen Shot 2022-02-22 at 8.39.38 AM.png




Alongside dozens of business professionals and hundreds of virtual attendees, Damascus Chief Strategy Officer, Christine Marallen, presented "How Implementing a Second Chance Program Can Add Value and Differentiate Your Business" at the recent 2022 We Mean Business Conference.


Recommended for the conference by the City of Hamilton Chamber President, Dan Bates, Marallen provided information on both the economic advantages and the common pitfalls in bringing individuals into the workforce post-incarceration.

The 2022 We Mean Business Conference, organized by the Cincinnati Minority Business Assistance Center, allows people from virtually everywhere to gain knowledge on how to start, manage, and grow an organization, including implementing a second-chance hiring program.


Marallen pulled from years of experience and partnerships with regional employers who have welcomed Damascus workers into their organizations. She addressed the common roadblocks and misconceptions that accompany individuals in under resourced lives. Attendees asked a wide range of questions about the myths and bias that is commonly attached to hiring individuals who possess criminal backgrounds. Assisting in the presentation was HR Generalist Shelley Castellini, a Damascus employer partner in SW Ohio and champion of second-chance hiring.


"Damascus understands this population in a way that makes my job easier," Castellini said to the attendees. "We worked closely together (at my last employer) and the results were evident. My open spots and my turnover diminished greatly."

www.teamdamascus.com
toddandchristine.jpg

CEO Todd Marallen & CSO Christine Marallen

Mission and Vision

Our Mission

To be the standard bearer in unconventional, scalable and sustainable solutions in incarceration, reentry, and the workforce in order to elevate individuals, communities, corporations and the country.

Our Vision

To solve an expansive and expensive social problem and permanently change the narrative about incarceration and reentry in the United States.

Click Here to Learn More about Damascus
Screen Shot 2021-09-09 at 1.23.36 PM.png

Be Part of the Impact!


Your contribution to Damascus changes lives, communities, the economy, and what's possible.


Use the QR code to the right, or click below to become part of the solution.

GIVE
partner-with-damascus__qrcode.png
Partner with Damascus