June 2008-When Vincent Johnson was released from prison for the second time, he went to the Safer Foundation in Chicago to try to find work. Vincent was matched with a mentor from Valley Kingdom Ministries, a Safer Foundation faithbased partner. Although Vincent was initially reluctant to work with a mentor, he is now grateful for the support and direction his mentor provided. The Safer Foundation also provided Vincent with clothing, job placement services, and employment readiness training. Since coming to the Safer Foundation, Vincent has worked at two companies and is currently employed as a printing press operator, a job with medical benefits and a 401(k). Vincent stated that he will never quit on life because he loves his wife of six years and his three children and two stepchildren. He credits mentoring and his reentry counselor for his success. In Vincent’s words, “Safer had the relationships with employers that understood my ex-offender status and had someone in place to support me along the way.”
The Safer Foundation is a nonprofit organization that helps people with a criminal record become employed, law-abiding members of the community. Safer House, a Prisoner Reentry Initiative grantee of the U.S. Department of Labor, works in partnership with other faith-based and community organizations to reduce the high rate of recidivism among ex-offenders.
www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/
