Photo courtesy of Goodwill West Texas.
Goodwill West Texas launches Reentry Point program
Goodwill West Texas is launching its newest program, Reentry Point, which is providing comprehensive assistance and education to people impacted by the justice system.
The program focuses on those with a history of being justice-impacted, have been recently released from incarceration or are 3-6 months away from leaving it, according to Goodwill West Texas.
CEO Rick Waldraff said investing time, education and resources into justice-impacted people is a proven strategy in breaking the cycle of recidivism. He said the program “Not only helps individuals re-acclimate into our community, but it creates an opportunity to make our community safer and stronger.”
About 60 percent of those formerly incarcerated face challenges with unemployment, per the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The Reentry Point program is set to provide job and life skills training to 100 people in its first six months.
Key to the program are its two tracks. Track 1, which assists recently released and justice-involved individuals, offers a five-day course providing job and life skills training, while also sharing resources for paying/advancing education, etc. Goodwill’s Career Center in Abilene offers the program, and also partners to provide links to transitional living facilities in the area, per the organization.
The program’s Track 2 starts at correctional facilities, where soon-to-be released participants are taught curriculum approved by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice that aims to equip them with skills to succeed post-release, such as job skills training, financial planning and more.
The Reentry Point program is launching in the Big Country, with future plans to expand it to reach justice-impacted individuals across the nonprofit’s 35-county territory. Funding for the program stems from the sale of items donated in Goodwill West Texas retail stores.
Learn more about the Reentry Point program here.
