PREDITORY LENDERS:
Are Loan Shark Mobsters Supported by the Indiana Legislature?
According to financial guru, Dave Ramsey, payday lenders are the financial industry’s Mafia. You have a money problem? They can fix it, all you do is sign the paper. But you better know you can be signing up for more than 300 percent annual percentage rates. These rates and fees are designed to keep borrowers coming back to pay off earlier loans, gouging clients and, destroying their finances, often leading to bankruptcy. In 25 states, there is a rate cap for these lenders who target the working poor, reentrants, military families and those on Social Security. Polls show that 88 percent of Hoosiers support a 36 percent APR cap. So why can't we get this done?
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Year after year the Indiana House puts forth bills that could end these practices and year after year, the Senate fails to act on them. So this year, Indiana Rep. Carey Hamilton (pictured) has introduced House bill 1026 that would create a maximum annual rate, prohibit deceptive acts and create penalties for lenders that violate the law. But, don't be fooled. Senate bills that flaunt a 36 percent charge are far more onerous than a cap at 36 percent APR. The "Annual Percentage Rate" verbiage is key to controlling abuse. Please contact State Senator Scott Baldwin, Chairman of the Indiana Senate Committee on Financial Institutions at 800-382-9467, and tell him you support a 36 percent APR cap on all small loans. Or send a letter or petition to Senator Baldwin, Indiana State House, 200 W Washington St. Indianapolis IN 46204.
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SPECIALIZED SERVICE:
UNITE INDY's Lamon Rush Helps Guide Reentrants to Jobs
UNITE INDY's Customer Service Representative, Lamon Rush, has been busy helping reentrants find jobs through our 41 employer partners on UI's SecondChanceIndy.com web site. With his valuable 'lived experience,' he is more qualified than any of us to give advice and direction in a way that is accepted and valued by our clients who are making the difficult trip back into society. In the first month he was able to help 54 people apply for 90 jobs. That is 54 people who don't have to wander the street asking for employment. Fifty-four people whose families will have a better economic foundation and whose children witness the value of work that supports their family and adds to their quality of life. But the best result is that these 54 people will find self respect, dignity, and restoration, every day, through the virtue of work —we've seen it. Well done, Lamon!
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BIG MEETING AT THE METRO DINER:
Workforce Chaplains Meet with Jim and Scott About Mentoring Reentrants
You'll hear this from anyone in the business of changing lives: Mentors are everything! With them, miracles can happen, without them, it's a long shot. So when the opportunity came up to meet with representatives of Workforce Chaplains to discuss mentoring opportunities we were pretty excited. Jobs for Life, UI's job training program, is especially tailored for people who need to change their mindset from one of a prison culture to the very different culture of an employment atmosphere. The two cultures are vastly different, and to succeed, reentrants need a class with a coach. Workforce Chaplains? A gift from God. More to come!
Photo: At the Metro Diner, a Second Chance Indy Employer Partner, L. to R., UI's Scott Whiting; Workforce Chaplains' Marcus Schrader, M. Div., president, and Daron Day, M. Div., vice president operations, and UI's Jim Cotterill.
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BIG TENT GETS BIGGER:
Another Reentrant Job Fair In The Works
Using UNITE INDY’S SecondChanceIndy.com job website, and working with a long list of UI’s Employer Partners, there to meet, greet, and interview potential employees, this job fair promises to be not only successful in terms of numbers, but most important the jobs it produces will sustain the many families who will be healthier and happier because a valued family member will be producing a living wage to support and improve the lives of everyone in their households. Check out last year’s Job Fair (Pictured above) Video Here, which helped more than 400 folks who needed a second chance. |
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EMPLOYER PARTNER MW COLD:
Harvesting Data Requires Help From HR
In the work we do, there is a lot we can learn from the numbers. To better understand forces that work against reentrant longevity on the job, we have to know all kinds of information - information that will be used to define a path to better serve reentrants and their families. UI Employer Partner, MW Cold has been at the forefront of working with UNITE INDY to employ those who need a job upon release. This week alone, Lamon Rush, our Customer Service Rep. at the Marion County Adult Detention Center, connected two new reentrants with jobs at the company. Photo: L to R, MW Cold HR Specialists, Quanisha Dowdell and Taylor Palmore, with UI's Lamon Rush and Scott Whiting.
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MORE AND MORE:
Kids Are Killing Kids
In the past few weeks, a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old were arrested in the shooting of a 15-year-old girl on the city's Far East side. We've had victims that are 10, one that was 8, and the shooters are getting younger and younger too. Nationally, the number of kids committing juvenile homicide, acting alone, rose 30 percent in 2020, homicides by multiple juveniles increased 66 percent. Children shot under the age of 18 in New York City virtually doubled.
Violent juveniles don't fall from the sky onto our streets complete with illegal weapons. They come from families. Right now, we need parents who will intercede before violent acts happen. But for long-term change, all of us must lead our children by example into a life of kindness, integrity and non-violence. We have to start teaching children while they are very small and never let up until we have raised a generation of men and women who can turn away from disagreements and lead long and happy lives. Read Nancy's post 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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