How the Urban Reentry Jobs Program Changed This Man’s Life
Jack began the Urban Reentry Jobs Program at the Urban League of Greater Atlanta while he was still transitioning out of prison. As a resident of the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) Clayton Transitional Center, he first began meeting with staff from the Urban League where he expressed his nervousness to about beginning the program. Although he was nearing 30, he had been incarcerated for nine years and was unsure of how he would “keep up with everyone else.”
With much encouragement from his counselor at Clayton Transitional Center, his instructors, and case manager, Jack registered for the Urban League’s four-week Pathways to Empowerment career readiness workshop and soon after, he began Construction Ready Training. After the training he faced many challenges including his grandmother falling ill and being denied an ID at the DMV.
Immediately after graduation from Construction Ready Training, Jack was offered a position paying $14.00/hour by a construction company that interviewed him during training.
ResultAlthough Jack experienced many situations during training that may have caused other to give up hope, he kept pushing and today is employed with a driver’s permit and hopes to drive heavy equipment in the near future to increase his salary.