• Free the Future is an initiative of the Mayor of Columbus Georgia’s Commission on Reentry, in partnership with the Urban League of the Chattahoochee Valley.
• The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s BETTER WORK Columbus program director, Kristin Barker, is leading this effort, serving as the chair of the Reentry Commission.

• The campaign aims to address existing biases and create a sustainable impact on the health and well-being of the community and its residents.

Breaking the cycle of recidivism is a critical issue in many communities across the United States. The Mayor’s Commission on Reentry in Columbus, Georgia is taking a multi-pronged approach to address this problem, with a mission to prevent recidivism by strengthening cooperation and collaboration among law enforcement agencies, corrections and supervision entities, resource agencies, social service and non-profit organizations, community members, and other private and public stakeholders.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s BETTER WORK Columbus program director, Kristin Barker, is leading this effort, serving as the chair of the Reentry Commission. “We have developed subcommittees to focus on priority areas that will provide the greatest impact for the reentry population in our community,” Kristin explains. “These areas are employment, housing and connectivity of resources.” 

One project that recently launched through the employment subcommittee is the FREE THE FUTURE campaign. The initiative is aimed at educating private employers on the value of Second Chance hiring. Many people who exit incarceration after serving their time are eager to start afresh, but they face significant challenges in finding suitable housing and jobs that pay a livable wage. Often, they have outstanding fines and fees that they are unable to pay without a steady income. The inability to find good employment quickly leads to a cycle of recidivism, which is hard to break.

The mission of BETTER WORK is to support the underserved in our communities and promote their long-term success. The FREE THE FUTURE campaign in Columbus is a key part of this effort, designed to challenge false narratives that hold people back from making positive life changes. The campaign aims to address existing biases and create a sustainable impact on the health and well-being of the community and its residents.

The FREE THE FUTURE campaign is easily accessible through Facebook, Instagram, and its website. Monthly meetings of the Mayor’s Commission on Reentry are open to the public, and many community organizations attend these meetings to become more educated and engaged with reentry in Muscogee County. 

Key partners in this initiative include BETTER WORK Columbus, Urban League of the River Valley, United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley – Home for Good, SafeHouse Ministries, Southern Center for Human Rights, Muscogee County Sheriff’s Department, Georgia Department of Corrections, Department of Community Supervision, and NewLife-Second Chance Outreach.

To learn more about this campaign, click here, or access the information via Facebook and Instagram. Monthly meetings of the Mayor’s Commission on Reentry are open to the public, and many community organizations attend these meetings to become more educated and engaged with reentry in Muscogee County.

Q: What are some of your favorite aspects of BETTER WORK’s mission?

Our positive relationship with employers is my favorite part. In Columbus there are around 300 applicants for every open job. It’s a tough environment. But with BETTER WORK, we have those relationships so we can kind of help the candidates get a foot in the door. What we’re doing though is we’re targeting people who are in poverty. 

We don’t turn anybody away. I have people who come to me with Bachelor’s Degrees that’s just relocated and it’s great to be able to help them to gain employment, too. But what really touches my heart is being able to help those people who are maybe underemployed or have just been out of the workforce for a while or moms that are trying to come into the workforce and being able to connect with those opportunities. A lot of them are on government programs. Eventually, the goal is to be self-sufficient and connect them with opportunities where they can work. 

It’s not just a job. It’s something that’s supposed to be long-term where they can grow. They can learn more about themselves. They learn more about the workforce and they can move up in the industry. I love being able to give those opportunities to people that want them.

Q: What are some of the things that motivate you, personally, in your work?

My hope for the future of BETTER WORK is that I want us to become the go-to place for job applicants and employers. Applicants can feel confident that we’re going to be able to place them somewhere. Employers are going to be confident that we’re going to send them people that are going to be there till they retire, and they’re going to be wonderful employees. Also, it could also reduce unemployment rates and things like that. I really want to create a childcare program. That’s what I want to do.

• Eddie was homeless and living on the streets. 
• With a home secured, Eddie’s next step was to find more permanent work
• Eddie is excited and proud to have taken steps toward building the life he wants.

That’s how Eddie Craig describes his current career aspirations. He has light in his eyes and hope in his heart, now that he has a steady job and a place to call home. But life wasn’t always so good for Eddie.

Eddie spent nearly five years on the street, homeless and working odd jobs. He earned money by raking and mowing yards, but it wasn’t enough to pay for a place to live. Every night, he slept in his car.

Then, he came to Home For Good, where he got in touch with an advocate named Ms. Terry. One morning, Ms. Terry located his car, where she woke him and introduced herself. 

“I heard her tap on the car window one morning. To be honest with you, I thought it was the police, because they were white,” Eddie says. “But I stepped out of the car and found out her name was Ms. Terry. She got my name and everything.” 

For about a month, Ms. Terry worked with Eddie to find affordable housing. 

“The next thing I knew, she was calling me to tell me I had my own place,” he says. “We went over there and checked it out. I didn’t care what it looked like. She said, ‘You like it?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I like it, no problem.’”

With his housing secure, Eddie’s next step was to find more permanent work. That’s where BETTER WORK Columbus stepped in. Eddie attended a job fair hosted by BETTER WORK. Eddie met Kristin, who went on to help him complete his hiring paperwork and get his questions answered.

“Between BETTER WORK and Home For Good, getting Eddie into housing and a steady job was a team effort,” Kristin says. 

Unfortunately, once Eddie was hired at his first job through BETTER WORK, reliable transportation proved to be an obstacle. His employer changed his schedule to another shift, and he couldn’t get to work. Still, he was determined to find another job, so he reached back out to BETTER WORK for help any time he encountered a roadblock. 

“He succeeded because he didn’t give up,” Kristin says. 

Fortunately, Eddie was able to get connected at a new job with the Marriott Hotel, where he’s happily employed and thriving. Since Eddie doesn’t have a formal education, Kristin and Ms. Terry helped him complete and submit his application paperwork. Along the way, he also got help obtaining the identifying documentation he needed to get hired — items such as his birth certificate, ID, and Social Security card.

“I had to start from the bottom,” he says.

Eddie credits Kristin for the job and Ms. Terry for his escape from homelessness.

“Thank God for BETTER WORK,” says Eddie. “I’m a living witness this has helped me.”

“I consider myself physically healthy and mentally healthy,” he says. “As far as a paycheck, everybody loves a paycheck.”

For others like Eddie who are looking for a steady job, he offers reassurance that the team at BETTER WORK will take their interests and strengths into consideration during the job search process. 

“BETTER WORK is going to help you find what you love to do,” he says. “It won’t just be digging ditches — unless you like digging ditches.”

Ultimately, Eddie is excited and proud to have taken steps toward building the life he wants. And BETTER WORK is proud to have played a part in his story. 

“It’s just good to be in the workforce,” he says.