After 9 Years: Same Goal, But Better
It’s the beginning of a new year…and I can’t help but look back nine years to see where we’ve been. In 2016, my husband Jim Cotterill and I founded a non-profit organization called Unite Indy. The idea was to improve our city by helping our forgotten neighbors. We believed we could unite churches, businesses, and government to better the lives of people who were experiencing generational poverty, generational unemployment, and just generally, people who were falling through the cracks.
After Unite Indy sent out a publication called “Building Race Relationships,” I received a letter from an inmate in the Putnamville Correctional Facility. That missive ignited a years-long friendship as we exchanged letters once or twice a week. We testified at a hearing for his early release and continue to stay in touch. This relationship put us on a path that seemed as obvious as following footsteps in the sand. We learned that it was almost impossible for most reentrants to get a job that could support them. We learned that our poorest neighborhoods were filled with people who had criminal records and had never found work. Nine-year recidivism averages were about 70%, so, no wonder we had to keep building bigger prisons and jails.
At the time, most people coming out of prison had a slim-to-nil chance of getting a job and when they did, it was $7 an hour for sweeping floors. That would have been great 30 years ago, but it won’t pay for an apartment and food today. So we began working with Scott Whiting who had been trying to place reentrants in jobs that paid a living wage. The problem was, we needed to get hundreds of good jobs for reentrants, which meant we needed to convince many, many more employers to hire people with a criminal record. Meanwhile, most reentrants didn't have a car and couldn't get to the jo, so the City of Indianapolis stepped up to provide transportation to and from work. It was a game changer.
Fast forward to 2023. We were working in numerous counties outside of Marion County and had grown out of the name Unite Indy. We changed our name to 2nd Chance Indiana to better represent what we were doing. Over the years we had developed job training modules that were taught to folks soon to be released, built a transportation program that takes reentrants to and from work, formed an inmate correspondents team, and had developed relationships with more than 40 employers who will hire people with a criminal record. Our web site allows reentrants to apply to jobs online, and can connect them to service providers regarding any other needs they may have.
Today, we work closely with churches whose members mentor reentrants or write to inmates in prison. Businesses are not only employers of reentrants, many are supporters of our work, and without our local and state governments providing funds to transport reentrants, most would not have been able to keep their jobs. Finding success after years in prison is a complicated business that requires a complicated effort. But for so many, it has made the difference between going back into incarceration, or making a new life for themselves and their families.
It may surprise you, but one man out of every three in the U.S. has a criminal record—In Indiana, that is 1.11 million men who have a criminal record today. We are here to help Hoosiers who need a hand up. We write to them, train and transport them, and connect them to jobs that pay a living wage. Over time, we can change the face of poverty and improve the lot of many people of color who are over represented in our prisons and jails. It’s basically the same goal we started out with nine years ago, but better.
Thank you Indiana, and thank you to all our volunteers, our amazing team members, and to all the reentrants who are working hard to stay on the upward path,
Nancy