New From Prison to Prosperity Initiative Announced

Photo by MultiMedia Title: Mayor Slay at the podium announcing the new From Prison to Prosperity Initiative on Sept. 8, 2015.
Source: MultiMedia

 Mayor Francis Slay was joined by State Senator Jamilah Nasheed, District 5 (D); Dale Glass, Corrections Commissioners; Michael Holmes, Executive Director of the St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE); Stan Shoun, President of Ranken Technical College and other officials to announce an exciting new pilot program designed to help people leaving the City's jail system successfully reenter the community.

The City's Corrections Division, SLATE, Ranken Technical College, and partners are training young adults, ages 17-24, incarcerated at the Medium Security Institution to be job and school ready.

During this pilot program, state and private funding will be used to connect 130 pre-trial detainees to jobs in the community or classes at Ranken Technical College upon their release.  Training includes financial literacy and a connection to social services for both the inmate and his family in an effort to create a realistic path to a constructive life.

The goals of the program are to 1) reduce recidivism; 2) provide access to supportive, credentialed job training before and after release; 3) connect participants to real job opportunities; and 4) help them open banking and savings accounts and value fiscal responsibility.

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