by David Bass | Aug 24, 2020
The Power of Second Chances
By David Bass
Imagine stepping from a life of homelessness characterized by desperation and deprivation to a full, rich life in which you can contribute and build a future.
That was Jonathan’s story of transformation. As a graduate of CKS Packaging’s Second Chance Program, Jonathan went from homeless to employed in an entry-level job with a solid upward trajectory, allowing him to support his family, save money for the future, and continue job training and education.
“What the Second Chance Program did was provide discipline, provide structure, and provide a lifeline,” Jonathan shared.
We love stories like these because they demonstrate so vividly this truth: When people are desperate, they need a sense of control over their lives. Without it, they are more likely to fall back into old bad habits and ways of doing things, such as substance abuse, crime, and homelessness.
A job with an upward trajectory is a key way to restore control and confidence in someone’s life.
Find out our full analysis of this
Second Chance Program.
A second chance
CKS Packaging is an Atlanta-based company that manufactures plastic containers for such clients as Coca-Cola, Chick-fil-A, and Kroger. The company created the Second Chance Program in 2016 to partner with service organizations in the Atlanta area with the sole purpose of recruiting struggling individuals who need a second chance at employment.
Georgia Center for Opportunity recently published a research report on the impressive results from the Second Chance Program.
According to Lloyd Martin, the VP of manufacturing and leader of the Second Chance Program at CKS Packaging, many service providers in the community deal with surface issues without addressing the root cause of a person’s problem. In contrast, the Second Chance Program recognizes that a job, and the stability it provides, is a vital plank in rebuilding a foundation for a fruitful life.
Another graduate of the program, Greg, shared that Second Chance provided him a job after hundreds of companies had rejected him due to his criminal record. “When so many other people have said no to you, and then someone steps up and gives you a chance and has faith in you, it makes you want to give it 150% every day,” Greg says. He now plans to stay with the company until retirement.
CKS Packaging didn’t just provide a second chance for Greg. It provided a career.
Doing good while making a profit
CKS Packaging and the Second Chance Program show that it’s possible to do good business while doing good for the community. In fact, they go hand in hand.
According to CKS Packaging, the Second Chance Program has allowed the company to fill the gap in labor they were facing with long-term, dependable employees who otherwise may have not gotten a chance to turn their lives around. In the last five years, the company has hired 473 people through the program.
That impact extends beyond a company’s bottom line and individual lives to enrich an entire community.
To learn more about what Georgia Center for Opportunity is doing to help get Georgians back to work check out our Hiring Well, Doing Good initiative.
by David Bass | Aug 20, 2020
Gov. Kemp signs bill into law expanding job opportunities for military spouses
By David Bass
With our state experiencing a 7.6% unemployment rate in June (the most recent numbers available), it’s clear that every Georgian needs all the help possible to find and maintain stable employment. That’s why the Georgia Center for Opportunity team was excited to see Gov. Brian Kemp sign a new bill into law (HB914) that knocks down a significant barrier to employment for new Georgia residents.
The new law provides a temporary occupational license to spouses of members of the armed services who move to Georgia. Georgia has the 5th largest number of military, civilian direct-hire, reserve, and national guard employees in the U.S. Spouses of these employees will now have a greater opportunity to obtain employment in the career of their choice.
“Particularly in the COVID-19 era, breaking down barriers to employment is more important than ever,” said Buzz Brockway, vice president of public policy at Georgia Center for Opportunity. “Restrictions on occupational licensing can be an enormous one of these barriers. It’s the least we can do for our men and women in uniform to ensure that their spouses have the ability to work in their area of expertise in our state.”
by David Bass | Aug 20, 2020
Gov. Kemp signs ‘second chance’ expungement bill into law for ex-offenders
By David Bass
For many Georgians, past criminal conviction can be the most significant hurdle to overcome in getting a job. On this front, there is good news: Gov. Brian Kemp recently signed a bill (SB288) into law that allows formerly incarcerated individuals to petition the court to have certain misdemeanor convictions erased from their record four years after the completion of their sentence.
The new law excludes certain offenses, including sexual offenses and DUIs. In a crucial move, the law also creates incentives for employers to make “second chance” hires.
This new law allows for an easier transition back into the workforce for a segment of Georgia’s population that has paid its debt to society and stayed on the straight and narrow.
“This new law is monumental because it takes Georgia off the list of only a handful of states where a criminal offense stays on an ex-offender’s record perpetually,” said Buzz Brockway, vice president of policy at Georgia Center for Opportunity. “We know that unemployment is a key way to help ex-offenders not repeat their crimes. Particularly in the COVID-19 era, breaking down any barriers to employment that we can is always a huge win. We applaud Gov. Kemp and the Georgia Legislature for making this law a reality.”
by David Bass | Jun 24, 2020
Hiring Well, Doing Good is ramping up in Columbus!
We recently received the alarming news that 40% of low-income households across the U.S. reported a job loss in March due to shutdowns from the COVID-19 pandemic. Closer to home here in Georgia, Columbus faces a rising unemployment rate (12.2% as of April) that is sure to spike to between 14% and 20% when April numbers are released.
In the middle of this economic disaster, Georgia Center for Opportunity’s Hiring Well, Doing Good (HWDG) program is expanding rapidly in Columbus. We are now open to forming partnerships with businesses and nonprofits in the region!
Read more: FULL PRESS RELEASE
What HWDG does
HWDG brings together community resources and technology to help un- and under-employed individuals achieve economic independence in three ways:
- Offering support: Individuals can easily search for local service providers who can help them overcome barriers to employment.
- Helping people find their strengths: Job seekers can identify their strengths and opportunities for employment through a soft skills assessment, a library of training programs, and a career pathway generator.
- Linking people directly with job opportunities: Job seekers can then connect with jobs relevant to their skill sets and personal preferences and geographic area.
Help for people like Marshayla
HWDG helps people like Marshayla Walker, who grew up in poverty in the greater Columbus region and struggled for years as an unemployed single mom. Marshayla heard about HWDG and attended training offered by Troy University, where she is currently majoring in psychology with a minor in global business. She said she is grateful for the support, encouragement, and resources HWDG offers and feels that she is now equipped to break into the competitive HR field upon graduation—with a new-found confidence that she can work her way up the career ladder and give her son opportunities she did not have growing up.
by David Bass | Jun 17, 2020
Restaurant workers and the impoverished are two categories of people particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic and its economic devastation. An estimated 8 million restaurant workers have been out of work nationally, while 39 percent of households earning $40,000 or less per year have lost work. Specific data for Georgia are now available yet, but we imagine they will be similar.
Creating jobs while feeding the hungry
But in the Atlanta area, local business and community leaders are coming together to help both populations in an inventive way. We’d like to introduce you to the Compassion Kitchen Project. Put together by the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta and the Knights of Columbus, the initiative provides much-needed work for displaced restaurant workers while stemming the tide of rising food insecurity in the metro area.
Here is how it works: Donations to the project are passed along to local restaurants, who then in turn make meals for local nonprofits and homeless shelters to feed the hungry. Some of the allied nonprofits include CHRIS180, Nicholas House, Catholic Charities Atlanta, and Together We Rise.
The Compassion Kitchen Project also delivers food bags—called “compassion to-go” bags filled with items like protein cars, chips, canned meats, and bottled water—for people living in transient housing or out of their cars.
‘A good mixed with a good’
Gene Rice, a local commercial real estate developer, has been a key part of the project. He shared with us that many of his business clients are restaurants and brew pubs. The idea with the Compassion Kitchen Project was to get a double bang for the buck—help restaurant workers on furlough while feeding the hungry.
“It’s a good mixed with a good,” Gene shares. “It’s helping a business getting kicked in the teeth right now, getting hourly workers back in the kitchen, and helping folks who are hungry.”
Within a week of getting up and running, the initiative had already served 1,200 meals and raised $30,000. To date, a total of 17,232 have been served.
Civil society in action
This is an example of why civil society is key as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic devastation. When businesses, nonprofits, churches, and other community institutions partner together for good, we see amazing results. Learn more about our Hiring Well, Doing Good initiative here.
