Give Previously Convicted People Another Chance

Formerly incarcerated people at the heart of anything else are still people. They have complex pasts, families, children, and more importantly futures that shouldn’t be dictated because of mistakes or problems with past behaviors. It is reported in the Metro-Atlanta Population (approximately 6 million people) that the Georgia Crime Ratio (GCR) is at an astounding 0.97% meaning there is an estimated 58,000 offenders in the Metro-Atlanta area.

This simply means that for every 100 people, 1 person will go to prison or jail.

To make matters worse, the current recidivism rate (the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend) reports at a nearly 50% rate, which many times is due to people committing a technical violation while on probation/parole. These technicalities often come from the formerly incarcerated person’s inability to procure employment within a 60 day timeframe; for which, these jobs often do not pay a livable wage rendering the potential of another technicality because they cannot pay for their residences if they are single, unmarried, or do not have proper support.

Atlanta’s formerly incarcerated people need stable jobs for the same reasons as everyone else: to support themselves and their loved ones, pursue life goals, and strengthen their communities. But how many formerly incarcerated people are able to find work? Using a nationally representative dataset, formerly incarcerated people are unemployed at a rate of over 27% — higher than the total U.S. unemployment rate during any historical period, including the Great Depression.

There is hope for this major societal problem in Georgia specifically though. Many community leaders across Georgia are bringing more awareness to this problem in the form of lobbying, speaking publicly, or creating job opportunities within their local community. Many of our partners within our Georgia Vocational Solutions (GVS) Job Path Network have committed to the well-being of all individuals within their communities by way of providing job opportunities that will provide a more livable wage — making significant impact in their local community!

>>>If you are an advocate for helping a friend or loved one improve their lives, join the GVS Job Path Network or feel free to donate to our program’s cause in providing job opportunities or skills workshops to our Georgia community abroad.