Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana to Partner with Capital Area ReEntry Coalition on Reentry Initiative
(Baton Rouge, LA) Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana (Goodwill), in partnership with Capital Area ReEntry Coalition, will begin providing job readiness training in Baton Rouge to returning citizens transitioning from incarceration. Goodwill’s services will be provided at its Employment & Training Center at 647 Main Street, in downtown Baton Rouge. Participants will be accepted by referral from the Capital Area ReEntry Coalition.
Goodwill’s job readiness program will address issues and skills that could affect employability as an individual leaves the justice system and reenters the workforce, such as anger management, critical thinking, résumé development, online job searching and job boards, interview preparation and mock interviews.
“It is the mission of the Capital Area ReEntry Coalition to ensure successful reentry, reduce recidivism and enhance public safety by creating a collaborative partnership with faith based, community non-profits, governmental, law enforcement, businesses, and citizens who are united in providing services that minimize the barriers faced by returning citizens,” said James Windom, executive director of the Capital Area ReEntry Coalition.
“As a result of our mission, I am excited to announce that Capital Area ReEntry Coalition and Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana will be collaborating as they bring their very successful reentry program to Baton Rouge,” said Windom.
Goodwill’s last two-year federal reintegration grant provided training, placement, mentoring and support services to 343 former offenders in the Greater New Orleans community from 2012-2014 and had a 5 percent recidivism rate—far below the national average of 22 percent. Due to community need, Goodwill has sustained its reentry programming through self-generated funds and local grants from the Greater New Orleans Foundation and Edward Wisner Foundation after the Department of Labor grant ended. In New Orleans, Goodwill will provides training, case management, mentoring and employment services to 170 individuals incarcerated in work release programs, recovery houses and residential release centers.
“Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana is committed to providing effective, re-entry services to men and women with criminal convictions,” said William L. Jessee, president of Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana.
“Successful reentry calls for access to safe housing, treatment for substance abuse as well as physical and mental illness, education and skills training, and jobs. That’s why we are honored to collaborate with Capital Area ReEntry Coalition, which integrates workforce development systems with education, housing, physical and mental health services, and drug and alcohol treatment. We are confident that our Goodwill can make a positive contribution to the transformational re-entry initiatives the Coalition has underway in Baton Rouge,” said William Jessee, president of Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana.
About Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana
Goodwill is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to offering opportunities to people with disabilities and other employment disadvantages to improve their economic self-sufficiency through training, education, support services and employment. In 2014, 3,438 people received Goodwill’s employment and training services and 279 were placed into jobs. Goodwill operates more than a dozen janitorial and grounds maintenance contracts and 18 retail stores in 14 cities—including Baton Rouge, Covington, Denham Springs, Gonzales, Hammond, Houma, Kenner, Mandeville, Metairie, New Orleans, River Ridge, Slidell, Walker and Zachary. These enterprises support Goodwill’s mission services in the community that help put people to work and onto a path of economic self-sufficiency.
About Capital Area ReEntry Coalition
We are the hands, feet, and heart of each person within our communities who wants to see their relatives, friends or neighbors come home to unlimited possibilities without the stigma of their past. Many of us, after working individually to help the formerly incarcerated overcome the hurdles of reentry, discovered, just like the ex-offender, how difficult it is to make this happen successfully! Everyone returning to our communities needs jobs, housing, education, job training, substance abuse counseling and more!
We began to seek out others with similar hearts and similar goals. We looked at each of the challenges facing the ex-offender and looked for partners that would satisfy that need. Through the efforts of CAPARC and its partners, we’ve seen recidivism reduced, people being employed, and most importantly, hope restored! We’re working not only in our communities, but also working to make an impact within the jails and prisons by creating relationships as mentors for men and women before they return home
Media Contacts:
Sabrina Written, Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana
Email: swritten@goodwillno.org | Direct Line: 504-456-3926
LaTonya Scott, Capital Area ReEntry Coalition
Email: girly_70802@yahoo.com