Mayor Garcetti announces $10 million investment in jobs program for formerly incarcerated Angelenos

 
01/30/2020



Mayor Eric Garcetti announced today that Los Angeles has received a three-year, $10 million grant from the California Department of Transportation to extend New Roads to Second Chances — a program that gives formerly incarcerated Angelenos training, support, and jobs maintaining and cleaning our roads.

“Los Angeles is a place where everybody belongs — and we’ll keep working to create opportunities for anyone ready to give back to our communities,” said Mayor Garcetti. “No one needs a second chance more urgently than our formerly incarcerated sisters and brothers, and New Roads to Second Chances gives people a chance to rebuild their lives through the dignity of work.”

New Roads launched in 2016 through a partnership between the Mayor's Office, Caltrans, and Chrysalis, with an initial $8.9 million state grant. To date, New Roads has served more than 1,200 individuals on probation or parole with job training, workforce development, wraparound services, and transitional employment — with the goal of supporting their successful reentry following incarceration. 

Each New Roads participant is eligible for up to 90 paid working days on a Caltrans crew. Since the program’s inception, New Roads teams have collected 606,811 bags of trash from roads and highways across L.A. County, helping clean and beautify our public passages. 

"We know that African Americans and other people of color are disproportionately represented in our criminal justice system," said City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson. "It's important that these people have the support services and opportunities to thrive following incarceration. New Roads provides thousands of opportunities to men and women looking to establish themselves in the city and rejoin their communities."

Beyond joining cleanup crews, participants work with case managers at Chrysalis to help them develop their resumes, participate in job-readiness classes, complete practice interviews, and access everything from computers and professional attire to scholarship funds and transportation assistance. While working for New Roads, participants develop skills that enable them to transition to full-time employment and long-term self-sufficiency.

“For individuals trying to navigate challenges to securing employment, such as experience with the criminal justice system, a transitional job presents the opportunity to get back to work quickly, earn a wage, and develop or build on their skills,” said Mark Loranger, President & CEO of Chrysalis. “The job outcomes for this program are impressive. But one of the most amazing things that I’ve seen happen over the first several years of this program is how crew members work and grow together. The experience of working on a team and with supervisors who are invested in their success is clearly a part of why this program has had such great outcomes.”

Mayor Garcetti founded the first dedicated Office of Reentry in the city’s history, focused on supporting formerly incarcerated people in reintegrating into the community, accessing employment opportunities, and creating a safety net that lowers the recidivism rate and deters formerly incarcerated Angelenos from falling into homelessness. In addition to New Roads, the Mayor also launched Project imPACT, a Proposition 47-funded program that provides counseling and wraparound services to formerly incarcerated Angelenos.

About Chrysalis

Chrysalis is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a pathway to self-sufficiency for people experiencing homelessness and low-income individuals by providing the resources and support needed to prepare for, find, and retain employment. Since 1984, Chrysalis has served more than 66,000 individuals at its five centers and locations throughout Southern California. In 2019, more than 2,500 Chrysalis clients secured employment while participating in Chrysalis’ program and more than 1,460 participants worked a transitional job with the organization’s social enterprise. Learn more at ChangeLives.org.



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