Buried in the book of Ecclesiastes is the concept that if we wait for all conditions to be ideal, we will never sow a seed or reap a harvest. It's in Chapter 11, actually. It is also said, "From a tiny acorn a mighty oak doth grow," a saying that has inspired so many who have begun a work because of a nagging feeling that 'something needs to be done.'
That's how it started with founder Jim Cotterill. He was heading the National Christian Foundation Indiana, where he raised something like $200 million during his tenure. He had seen so much money generously given to needs around the world, but was nagged by the issues he saw right here, where desperate families live in desperate need. Though conditions weren't ideal, he decided to sow anyway. It was time to go.
We knew that poverty is a multi-tiered complex problem and that a small start-up organization could do little on its own. But Jim believed we could make this effort a team sport, and set out to unite government, businesses, churches and others of goodwill in a ground-breaking effort to impact lives and reduce the suffering of those in generational poverty. Hence the name, UNITE INDY.
He chose not to look away from those neighborhoods—rife with food insecurity, and health care deficiencies—or jobless men gathered on corners, often unemployable because of criminal histories, in neighborhoods where children develop a life-map of forever living off government assistance. We soon realized that what was needed there, is what is needed by people in every strata of working life—the ability to earn a wage that can support oneself and one's family.
That was six years ago. It was the inspiration for our Jobs for Life training, our SecondChanceIndy.com job website and our involvement with Butler University Lacy School of Business' landmark study. A study which proved that employees with a criminal record are equal in job performance to those with no record. With this empirical evidence, we were then able to encourage many employers to offer jobs through our website. Finally, it led us to form a van transportation system that today takes reentrants to and from work, because the two greatest causes of recidivism are lack of a job and lack of dependable transportation.
The Bible says "He who will not work will not eat," but we could add that they might also be on their way back to prison, since statistics reveal that a good job soon after release from incarceration drives down recidivism to 90 percent. We work to provide those needed jobs and find that these programs are life-changing for all those who truly want a second chance in life.
Today we have a job acquisition effort operating right in the Marion County Adult Detention Center, impacting our neighbors in Indianapolis, but our work has progressed, and UNITE INDY now serves many in our nine-county Central Indiana area. A seed has been sown, and a mighty oak is truly growing. We have been blessed with much fruit, and are grateful to all our associates, partners, supporters, and volunteers. This work is truly a team sport and we're going for the win.
Nancy
