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This Fitness Entrepreneurship Course Is a Second Chance for the Formerly Incarcerated

Kristi Eaton

June 09, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

People who spend their time in prison getting physically fit might seek to turn what they've learned into a job as a fitness trainer, once they're released. But felony convictions act as a barrier to such jobs. A Second U Foundation, founded by a formerly incarcerated man who faced such barriers, provides an eight-week course in running a fitness-training business. Of the 200 people who have taken the course since 2015, three-quarters have been hired by health clubs, while the others started their own businesses. Foundations and grants foot the bill so that the training is free.

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Colorado's Second Chance Center is redefining what success looks like after incarceration

Moe Clark

June 04, 2021 |

Colorado Newsline |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Aurora, Colorado

At the Second Chance Center, people emerging from prison get the necessities to survive, like housing, clothing, and food. But they also get deeper learning about how to repair their lives, thanks to an inclusive and empowering message from the staff, most of whom are formerly incarcerated. "They need to be seen," says one counselor. More than 7,000 have gone through the program, which boasts recidivism rates far lower than the state average. Now it's opened in downtown Denver to serve people coming out of the city and county jails.

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A business without bosses

Euan McKirdy Jaisal Noor

June 03, 2021 |

The Real News Network |

Video |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

ChiFresh Chicago is owned and run by formerly incarcerated women of color. The business' five owner-workers responded to the pandemic's effect on food insecurity, in neighborhoods that already had high rates of that problem, by providing healthy, culturally appropriate meals to the communities hardest hit. In the longer term, ChiFresh's goal is supporting the community's food sovereignty while managing their own livelihood on their own terms.

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How a program became a model for life after prison

Alasyn Zimmerman

June 03, 2021 |

KOAA-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Colorado's Transforming Safety initiative empowers communities to decide how to use grant money to address high rates of recidivism. One community-chosen grantee is Colorado Springs Works, founded by a man who made a habit of asking those he was incarcerated with why they had been sent back to prison on parole violations. Lack of good jobs was a key reason, and so the program he created helps recently incarcerated people get job training and jobs on the outside.

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Some U.S. states have higher vaccination rates inside prisons than outside.

Ann Hinga Klein

June 01, 2021 |

The New York Times |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, California

Three state prison systems have vaccinated incarcerated people at far greater rates than in the general public thanks in part to educational meetings with experts that helped overcome natural distrust. In California and North Dakota, town-hall-type meetings gave incarcerated people opportunities to ask questions about safety. Kansas prisons gave incarcerated people priority in the vaccination program, and provided them and their families with information. Other possible factors increasing compliance included peer pressure and the ease of getting vaccinated within the prisons.

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Startup Helps Those Affected By Gangs And Gun Violence Find A Way Out

Katia Riddle

May 29, 2021 |

NPR |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

The boom in green-energy spending and government grants fuels the work of Leaders Before Legends, a Portland startup that lines up well-paying jobs installing solar panels and the like. The jobs go to people formerly incarcerated on charges related to gun violence. Leaders was founded by a man whose own gun-charge incarceration exposed him to the way that business people think. He turned that exposure into a mission to help others learn how to make money legally and safely. In the past year, the program has found work for 10 people. It is working to expand its city funding to scale up.

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Utah Co. jail has largest jail industries program nationwide, providing jobs and hope for inmates

Sydney Glenn

May 28, 2021 |

KSTU-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Spanish Fork, Utah

Nearly 10,000 people incarcerated in the Utah County Jail have found paid work in the community during their jail terms thanks to the sheriff's Jail Industries program. While the incarcerated people get to keep just 20% of their wages, and only people with low-level offenses may participate, about 70% who go through the program get offered permanent jobs when they're released, thanks to employers' satisfaction with the workers. Having a decent job is a critical factor in preventing future criminal offenses. Jail Industries graduates have shown lower than average recidivism rates.

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People in Solitary Confinement and Volunteers Team Up to Garden, Imagine a World Without Prisons

Roshan Abraham

May 27, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

The Solitary Gardens project started in New Orleans and has been copied in multiple other places as a combination art exhibit and therapeutic link between incarcerated people and the outside world. People on both sides of the prison walls collaborate in pairs to design a garden that grows flowers and herbs chosen by the incarcerated person. The gardens match the tiny dimensions of a solitary-confinement cell. The healing herbs are used to help others, and the exercise overall gives incarcerated people a sense of connection to the earth, part of the project's prison-abolition message.

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This running program gives a mental health boost to incarcerated women

Chaundra Furin-Campbell

May 27, 2021 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Wilsonville, Oregon

More than 1,000 women incarcerated at Oregon's Coffee Creek Correctional Facility have participated since 2015 in Reason to Run, a program promoting better physical and mental health through running. Participants receive eight weeks of training and then are eligible to compete in races, albeit within the prison confines. After their release, the encouragement continues with "run care packages" of sneakers and sports bras. Surveys show the women felt happier, healthier, and part of a positive group experience.

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Reforms are emptying Louisiana's prisons. This group makes sure no one goes back.

Katy Reckdahl

May 26, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

First 72+ is a New Orleans reentry agency founded by formerly incarcerated people to help others as they exit prison. That help focuses on everyday needs for transportation, housing, and emotional support. As in many states, a large share of formerly incarcerated people get sent back to prison, often for lack of support on the outside. The name First 72+ refers to research showing how the first 72 hours after prison can determine one's fate. In six years, none of the 176 people, mostly men, served by the agency has returned to prison, a record that prompted the state to send more clients to the agency.

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