REDF

In the last two years, the COVID-19 pandemic catapulted unemployment and underemployment to the top of a list of contributing factors to homelessness, as well as lack of affordable housing. Now is the time for LA to invest in job training and workforce development programs. The Los Angeles Regional Initiative for Social Enterprise - LA:RISE - has employed over 5,000 Angelenos who are housing insecure or have experienced homelessness. Let’s continue to build on its success. City of Los Angeles County of Los Angeles Los Angeles Economic and Workforce Development Department Los Angeles County Workforce Development, Aging & Community Services

Reentry - and rebuilding confidence and community - after incarceration requires a supportive environment. Meet a few of the women who have found a space for healing, learning, and connection at #REDFAccelerator alum Resonance Center for Women.

Meet LA:RISE graduate Christian! Currently enrolled in a Maintenance Technician Training Program, he is excited about the future he is building after gaining on-the-job skills, experience, and a network of support through LA:RISE. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Christian experienced homelessness and faced steep barriers to employment because of the stigma of his previous incarceration and a lack of work experience. At employment social enterprise Center for Employment Opportu...nities - CEO, he developed confidence and became a leader on his work crew. Christian also regularly met with a job coach, attended counseling sessions, and sought out legal services and peer support. Once he passes his final training exams, he’ll be placed in full-time employment in a well-paying industry that will support his growing family. Congratulations, Christian! #LARISE

REDF Growth Portfolio partner Project Return TN in the news! Hear CEO Bettie Kirkland share how their staffing business creates new beginnings for Tennesseans returning home from incarceration.

Meet LA:RISE graduate Christian! Currently enrolled in a Maintenance Technician Training Program, he is excited about the future he is building after gaining on-the-job skills, experience, and a network of support through LA:RISE. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Christian experienced homelessness and faced steep barriers to employment because of the stigma of his previous incarceration and a lack of work experience. At employment social enterprise Center for Employment Opportu...nities - CEO, he developed confidence and became a leader on his work crew. Christian also regularly met with a job coach, attended counseling sessions, and sought out legal services and peer support. Once he passes his final training exams, he’ll be placed in full-time employment in a well-paying industry that will support his growing family. Congratulations, Christian! #LARISE

Employment social enterprises believe in the power of possibilities for people who have experienced incarceration, helping set them on a career path that reveals their potential. Meet a few of the entrepreneurs we partner with and get a first-hand look at their day-to-day work with Roadtrip Nation.

From education to skill-building, Prison Scholar Fund knows that with access and opportunity returning citizens can overcome steep barriers to employment. Learn about their new coding boot camp & meet their first participant, Anton.

New #socent alert! How Rest Stop Ministries and Fried Green Tomatoes Food Truck teamed up to create Good Hope Farms, a social enterprise that employs survivors of human trafficking so they can gain the stability, confidence and skills they need to succeed.

Over 300 people overcoming barriers to employment have accessed employment, training, and support at Community Kitchen Pittsburgh. The culinary social enterprise is helping build a more inclusive Pittsburgh - and we’re thrilled to be backing them in our Growth Portfolio. Learn more about their plans to continue expanding their kitchen, programs, and impact.

It’s time to stop overlooking talent that has been incarcerated. It’s good for business, communities, and our country. The path forward begins with opening our hearts, minds and hiring processes to people who have criminal records.

Do you lead a mission-driven business that provides jobs, training, and support to untapped talent in your community? Is your business poised for growth and greater impact? Apply to the #REDFAccelerator, our highly interactive program designed with you in mind. https://redfworkshop.org/accelerator-2022/

Eye-opening The New Yorker piece, featuring Firebrand Artisan Breads, on the right ingredients for making your values a permanent part of your company. REDF #ImpactInvesting Fund was among the progressive investors that believed in Firebrand's burgeoning bakery business AND its social mission. Read on to learn more:

Do you lead a mission-driven business that provides jobs, training, and support to untapped talent in your community? Is your business poised for growth and greater impact? Apply to the #REDFAccelerator, our highly interactive program designed with you in mind. https://redfworkshop.org/accelerator-2022/

On #MLKDay, REDF President @mariasusankim sits in the imbalance of two truths: deep admiration for how Dr. King changed the world with his life and deep admonition for how that world has failed to live up to that change. Read her reflections on the work that remains to ensure dignity for all.

Catalyze your impact. Connect with peers. Calibrate your business goals. Applications are now open for the #REDFAccelerator, a 5-month program designed exclusively for leaders of social enterprises that employ people overcoming barriers to work. Learn more and apply today! https://redf.org/what-we-do/redf-accelerator/

The key to Nehemiah Manufacturing’s success? Its talented, committed workforce comprised of #secondchance hires. Read why other companies should follow suit:

Learn how #socent GRID Alternatives Greater Los Angeles - GLA, part of REDF’s recently-launched Growth Portfolio, acts as a launchpad to careers in CA’s booming solar power industry while creating a greener future for all Angelenos via Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Across the country, employment social enterprises employ tens of thousands of individuals striving to build better futures each year. Over the past five years, we’ve proudly supported the work of 192 of these businesses in 30 states and DC. Learn more and explore our impact at www.redfimpact.org.

The combination of on-the-job training and wraparound support is what makes employment social enterprises so effective. Now this whole person approach is catching on.

Don’t miss this great coverage of Roca’s work in Baltimore to provide paid job training, cognitive behavior therapy, and support to young men aspiring to escape cycles of violence.

The fact is, racial inequity is largely driven, entrenched, and undergirded by the criminal legal system and its collateral consequences in our nation...Employers can turn the tide for people who are returning to our community after incarceration by offering them jobs. Read Project Return TN CEO Bettie Kirkland’s call to action for employers across the country.

A stable job is essential to maintaining stable housing. Employment social enterprises are helping tens of thousands of people get jobs, keep jobs, and build a better life. Learn how: www.redf.org/inclusive-economy

Greyston’s vision is for companies across the country to embrace open hiring practices. It's a benefit for the business. It's a benefit for the person that they're hiring and ultimately, it's a benefit for society. We couldn’t agree more - let’s make it happen!

Discover how you can be part of building a more inclusive economy: redf.org/inclusive-economy

Orion Industries believes good jobs change lives. Their social enterprise has provided transitional employment to nearly 2,500 people in the last 10 years. Find out how Rooster and thousands of others have broken through barriers, built new skill sets, and changed their lives. www.redf.org/inclusive-economy.

In 2018 - even before this year’s record unemployment - 27% of formerly incarcerated individuals were looking for work & unemployed. The rates were nearly double for people of color. It’s time for employers to embrace #secondchance hiring.

Rooster started at Orion Industries with some construction experience, but he graduated with a whole set of new skills. And the confidence to pursue a new, high-skill career. Learn more: www.redf.org/inclusive-economy

NEW: We’re thrilled to share that REDF has received a $1.2M grant from U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service. Alongside partners at Center for Employment Opportunities and Seattle Jobs Initiative, we’ll be training employment social enterprises nationwide to provide transitional employment to SNAP participants. Learn more: https://redf.org//u/REDF_USDA-SNAP-Press-Release_FINAL.pdf

Center for Employment Opportunities has placed over 34,000 people returning home from prison in jobs across 11 states. They’re transforming lives, reducing recidivism, and helping build an inclusive economy. Learn more about CEO’s work - and meet graduate Starr - at www.redf.org/inclusive-economy

As a returning citizen without a home, Starr faced significant barriers to employment. She built interview skills and confidence at Center for Employment Opportunities, and was soon hired for a trade job. Once there, she shined. She has been an overall role model as an employee, her employer shared. Find out how employment social enterprises like CEO create more opportunities and a more inclusive economy: www.redf.org/inclusive-economy

With the skills & confidence built at employment social enterprise, tens of thousands of people are breaking through barriers, getting employed, and starting on the path toward economic stability. Learn how: www.redf.org/inclusive-economy

Employment social enterprise businesses help people gain skills, build confidence, and find (and keep) a job. Learn how at www.redf.org/inclusive-economy

Congratulations, Cafe Momentum! Expansion was always part of the plan. How could it not be when more than 700,000 teens enter the juvenile justice system each year across this country? We love to watch employment social enterprise businesses growing, expanding their footprint & impact.

Hopeworks Camden is an employment social enterprise that helps youth pursue careers in the technology field. 85% of graduates get jobs, earn high wages, and stay employed. Learn more about Hopeworks and the hundreds of employment social enterprises we partner with at www.redf.org/inclusive-economy