Jordan Jeske understands the need for second chances. As a former drug addict and prisoner, he's had his fair share of struggles.
Learn more about the progress Prison Fellowship has made over the 2017 fiscal year by reading our 2017 Annual Report.
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“What happens after the 50th landlord tells you that you can’t rent an apartment because of your record, or the 50th employer explains that their company doesn’t hire ‘felons’?”
Christopher Poulos, executive director of Life of Purpose Treatment at the University of North Texas, asks this in a piece for The Bangor Daily News.
It’s hard to get a job when you have a criminal record. Period.
But sometimes the right kind of coaching … and the right kind of employer … can make all the difference.
The New York Times ran a piece last week about a federal court program in Missouri that is actually having success finding good jobs for ex-prisoners, and helping them keep those jobs.
David Padilla knew that he deserved to be punished for the drug dealing of his youth. But he didn’t see how it would benefit the community—or his wife Lisette and their four children—for him to die in prison.
After his third drug-related offense resulted in a life sentence, Padilla set out to become a model resident of the federal prison system.
In his final State of the Union address last night, President Obama told the American people that he would not allow his final year in office to be a silly season.
Among his key priorities for the year would be an increased emphasis on criminal justice reform—an effort Obama referenced as a "bipartisan priority" despite the current rancorous bipartisan climate.
There are many hurdles facing the men and women returning to society from a period of incarceration. For some, there are ongoing struggles with addiction that must be addressed in order to avoid a return to prison. For others, there is a need to learn skills or trades that will help them become productive, contributing members of society.
Shine Adams is employing those society deems "unemployable" and giving them a hope for a new future.
This is Benny's dream: helping former prisoners rebuild their lives.
Chicago lawmakers have decided it's time to take a fresh approach to counteracting all the gun violence and overflowing jails in their city. And this fresh approach starts with the young people.
Marlon is a living testament to second chances.
