DEMAND CONTINUES TO GROW:

2CI & Recovery Works Make BIG Impact: Wow!

In only 9 months, 2nd Chance Indiana has reported to Recovery Works tremendous growth in our shared Reentry Transportation Program, supporting reentrants who have substance use histories by connecting them with life-changing employment and transportation services, so they can get to and from work.

The effort has grown from 29 participants to 88 individuals served, and the number of counties covered where employers have hired reentrants, has grown from 3 to 14, while the number of towns and cites covered has ballooned from 7 to 22 statewide. Finally, the number of employers has risen from 10 to 27.

The sharp increase in employer participation reflects expanded interest in hiring second-chance personnel in manufacturing, healthcare, food services, construction, retail, logistics, and more. The program's effectiveness supports employment stability and retention for both the employers and the employees, whose lives are supported and changed, with a job and a ride.

18 COUNTIES:

Transportation Deserts Keep Many From Work

Massive need requires a massive response, and 2nd Chance Indiana is expanding to fill the void of public transportation in our state. Currently, we are serving 14 counties that have large numbers of reentrants who, without a ride, could not keep a job. 

But there is so much to do to release the potential economic benefits along our western border, and south-east corner counties. These 18 counties statistically classify as Transportation Deserts—counties where there is limited or no public transportation.

As we plan into the next year, 2nd Chance Indiana will be working to toward expansion into 28 counties—prioritizing our efforts in high-need transportation-desert areas. There, we will continue our efforts developing workforce hubs as we have in Warsaw, Syracuse, Kokomo, Bloomington, and Jasper, where justice-impacted Hoosiers are now able to build a financial foundation under themselves and their families.

INFLUENTIAL WOMEN:

2nd Chance's Molly Oliver

Recognized For Her Work

2nd Chance Indiana's Molly Oliver was was recently featured on Influential Women, an online publication which promotes the voices of women in work and in our society as a whole.

As Director of Employment Services, Oliver oversees 2CI's transportation and employment teams which support justice‑impacted individuals during reentry. Our transportation efforts operate vanpools across the state, with a growing waitlist that reflects the need for this work. She says, "I didn’t understand what a 'transportation desert' was until I suddenly found myself living in one." Her car had been totaled. Without a car, or public transportation, she realized-—as many do—that "you either have a car, or you stay home."

Oliver wrote, "2nd Chance Indiana's transportation program is about more than getting to work—it’s about stability, belonging, and the ability to thrive. We don’t just talk about second chances; we live them." Congratulations Molly!

Pictured: Molly Oliver, Director of Employment Services, 2nd Chance Indiana.

CUTTING COSTS, SUPPORTING CLIENTS:

Monroe County's Advanced Probation Reform

Go back a decade in the Monroe County Circuit Court Probation Department, and probation revocation was running high and people being sent back to incarceration were straining the already overcrowded facilities as well as the budget.

With Indiana University at arm’s reach, the two joined forces to enter the “Reducing Revocations Challenge,” an effort to find ways to interrupt the pathway to revocation and re-incarceration. Now with three years under their belts, many things have changed. Methods are now better for not only those serving probation sentences, but also for the probation officers as well, who have clearer rules for their clients and more leeway to understand situations that otherwise might interrupt their probation. Clients are treated with respect—just ask them. They receive a text message after every visit, and one of the questions that are asked is literally, "Were you treated with respect?" The answers are usually around 90% in the affirmative. Read More Here!

RETIRED, BUT NOT TIRED:

Scott Whiting Steps Down

But Never Out!

At the end of March, Scott Whiting who was fundamental in the development 2nd Chance Indiana's efforts to connect reentrants with jobs for justice-impacted people in Indiana, decided it was time to retire to spend more time with his grandchildren and his devoted wife, Mimi. His love of God had taken him to missions in Haiti and other places of need and eventually, found a niche in the heart of Indiana, for which we are so grateful.

Says Scott, "Being part of this team has meant a great deal to me. I’ve learned so much from each of you, and I’ve genuinely valued the support, collaboration, and friendship we’ve built along the way." Thank you Scott, for all the good over the years!

Pictured: Scott Whiting, 2nd Chance Indiana's V. P., retired.