New Grant Gives Second Chance For Former Hartford Inmates

HARTFORD, CT — For anyone whose had a brush with the law, finding gainful employment after paying a debt to society, is often impossible.

But one Hartford-area based organization has received a major funding boost to improve the odds for those once troubled, but now ready to contribute.

On Monday, Capital Workforce Partners announced it has received $299,885 in grant funding from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to support CWP’s BEST Chance Program.

BEST Chance provides underskilled, underemployed and unemployed returning citizens with the education and training necessary to secure living wage jobs in high-growth industries.

While the October 2022 unemployment rate for the Hartford area was 3.9 percent, the rate in City of Hartford was 6.2 percent, according to CWP.

And, CWP said, the unemployment rate for formerly incarcerated individuals can be as much as five times higher than the national rate.

Funding from the Hartford Foundation will help BEST Chance make a positive impact on the unemployment rate for people returning home from incarceration and justice-impacted youth in greater Hartford, according to CWP.

The grant will allow CWP to provide more participants from greater Hartford with training, job placement and retention, mental health counseling and other services.

BEST Chance is designed to connect participants to opportunities to overcome literacy, health, housing, access to good jobs and other challenges.

The services are offered by a partnership that includes the state Department of Labor; the state Department of Corrections; Community Partners in Action; the Reentry Welcome Center; Career Resources Inc.; the NAACP; and other second-chance advocates.

In addition to helping returning citizens, the Hartford Foundation’s grant will aid BEST Chance in serving justice-involved youth — young people aged 18 to 24 who have been arrested, though not necessarily incarcerated.

These young people have a higher risk of recidivism than other age groups and are in need of training and employment supports, according to CWP.

“Capital Workforce Partners is incredibly grateful to the Hartford Foundation, not only for its generous financial support of our programs, but also for the years of sustained collaboration with our organization,” said Alex B. Johnson, president and chief executive officer of CWP.

“This funding will make a real difference in the lives of returning citizens and justice-involved youth as well as their broader communities.

Said Jay Williams, president of the Hartford Foundation: “The foundation began supporting BEST Chance in 2016, and this additional funding will help participants who need support in building their academic and work readiness skills advance in their career paths to better jobs. We know that Black and Latinx populations are disproportionately represented in the justice system and we need to help ensure that all greater Hartford residents have opportunities to advance their economic and social mobility to reach their potential.”

Capital Workforce Partners is the state’s Regional Workforce Development Board for north central Connecticut and helps individuals overcome barriers to employment and closes the gap between skills and business hiring needs.

For more information on Capital Workforce Partners, click on this link.

For more information on the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, click on this link.