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"In an effort to make a difference, we must do something different" Dr.Wendell L. Hylton
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Assistance for Returning Citizens
&  Persons with a Felony Record
 
 
Effective October 1, 2011
RIHD New Telephone Number
(804) 426-4426
 
Are you an employer?  Do you know of a job that will hire a person with a felony record?
Contact RIHD, Inc. today. 
Email:  rihd23075@aol.com
Call:  (804) 426-4426
Thank you in advance
Click On Below
NationalReentryResourceCenter
Reentry Mythbusters

Work Opportunity Tax Credit for Ex-Felons 
 "The Senate Finance Committee approved the extension of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit for "qualified ex-felons," meaning those hired within a year of their conviction or release.  Felons hired through a work release program are also considered qualified.  The extension will last through 2013."
Morgan W. Salvador
Reentry Specialist
OAR of Richmond, Inc.
One North Third Street
Suite 200
Richmond, VA 23219
Phone:  (804) 643-2746
Fax:  (804) 643-1187


 The full overview is available on the Senate Finance Committee website via this link:   Summary of the Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012 as Approved by the Finance Committee ?

 

Free & Full Health Care Benefits

To Apply

 VCU/MCV Hospital

Gateway Building

Take elevator to 1st Floor

Financial Screening

 

 

 

Boaz & Ruth RestoreCorps
• Boaz & Ruth rebuilds lives of formerly incarcerated men and women through a transitional jobs and training program.
Boaz and Ruth
3030 Meadowbridge Rd
P. O. Box 6129
Richmond Va 23222
804 329-4900

http://boazandruth.com/

 

Job Search for Felons
http://allfelonjobs.com/felons-hire
 

Restoring Driving Privileges

Drive-To-Work
P.O. Box 14526
Richmond, VA 23221

Phone: (804) 358-6727    Toll Free: (877) 358-6727
Fax: (804) 358-7000
info@drivetowork.org      http://www.drivetowork.org/

 

Restoration of Rights  Application/Filing Assistance

Tuesday by Appointment Only

Time:  3pm to 8pm

Call for appointment:  (804) 426-4426

Email:  rihd23075@aol.com

 Location:

Wesley Memorial UMC

RIHD Office

1720 Mechanicsville Turnpike

Richmond, Virginia 23223

(I-64 Mechanicsville Turnpike West Exit)

 

For assistance in other areas of Virginia contact RIHD at rihd23075@aol.com

Virginia Prisoner Re-entry and Prison Reform

Your Voice Matters

Click here if you would like to submit a comment, question or suggestion regarding prisoner re-entry and prison reform.  Your Voice Matters

Prisoner Re-entry Initiative
Office of Public Safety
Patrick Henry Building, 3rd Floor
1111 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
Phone: (804) 786-5351
Fax: (804) 371-6381

 

  

Va: Early Release Non-Violent Felons

July 2010-2012  Report

 http://us.mg2.mail.yahoo.com/dc/launch?.gx=1&.rand=baqbaikd6dq60

 

 

 

Ex-Offenders Find Legitimate Uses for Their Entrepreneurial Skills

The Prison Entrepreneurship Program transforms former criminals into business people, redirecting their skills from the street into legal enterprises.

 

By Angela Sivak, NCPC Staff

Would you believe that the skills that give hustlers, drug dealers, and gang leaders such a reputation on the streets could be converted into something positive? Many inmates in prisons in the United States possess the entrepreneurial skills that could earn them decent salaries while leading law-abiding lives. The nonprofit Prison Entrepreneurship Program(PEP) is dedicated to channeling these ex-offenders’ skills into executive positions in legitimate businesses.

The Prison Entrepreneurship Program was founded in May 2004. Its goal is simple: to transform criminals, who manifested the influential skills and passion of an entrepreneur in their criminal activities, into legitimate business people who benefited their community.

PEP is able to transform these ex-offenders by connecting them with business talent through providing mentoring and MBA-level business courses and by fostering entrepreneurial enthusiasm. This education upholds the concept of moral decision-making and the importance of spiritual discipline. PEP connects these ex-offenders with others who have taken similar paths, providing them with a brotherhood that shares a common goal.

The program has turned previous criminals’ lives around. Hans Becker, a former criminal charged with assault, possession of cocaine, and a DUI is now the founder of a landscaping business called Armadillo Tree & Shrub in Dallas, TX. His company is only a year old, but it is already bringing in $10,000 a month. He says that if it weren’t for PEP, he would have spent his time "watching TV, playing dominoes, gambling—all that life is in a penitentiary." It is evident from Becker’s perspective that his life has improved since he channeled his skills into founding a legitimate organization that has made him a respected citizen in his community.

Becker is not the only one to reuse his business skills in a new setting. In a study done in 2007 by PEP, 40 percent of the program’s graduates had gone into sales and management positions and 98 percent were employed. These people transferred the same skills they learned on the streets into the business world after graduating from PEP.

It is fortunate that these former criminals have been able to avail themselves of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program. Without the skills to get new jobs or start their own businesses, they might not have been able to turn their lives around, since ex-offenders rarely find employment after they get out of prison. This is because of employers’ reluctance to hire ex-offenders. The problems that many released offenders face in finding employment and obtaining money may lead them back to a life of crime. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, at least 650,000 offenders will be released from prison in the coming year, and two-thirds of those people will be rearrested for repeated criminal activity within the next three years. These statistics contrast with the statistics of PEP graduates. Of all PEP graduates, only 5 percent have recidivated.

PEP removes released prisoners from the temptation of recidivism by providing them with the tools to succeed in a legal, moral way. It equips them with the capability to start over and redirect their life skills toward a greater—and more gainful—purpose.


 

CLICK ON REPORT

 

Task Force Recommendations 

Presentation to the Joint Subcommittee on  Public Safety

October 19, 2009  
Task Recommendations
  Task Force Status Report

Presentation to Joint Subcommittee on Public Safety

Sept 17, 2009

Task Report Status

  

Prison Count 2010 Report 

 

GOODWILL Community Employment Centers

Capital Region Workforce Center and Community Employment Center (CEC)

 All services are geared to assist individuals at their current level of knowledge, experience and ability.

For more information, please contact any of our Centers below:

 

6301 Midlothian Turnpike
Richmond, VA 23225
Phone: (804) 675-9910

 

Brookhill Community Employment Center
5270 Chamberlayne Avenue
Richmond, Va 23227
Phone: (804) 261-0091

Mechanicsville Community Employment Center
7147 Brandy Run Drive
Mechanicsville, Va 23111
Phone: (804) 417-6721

Petersburg Community Employment Center
65 Crater Circle
Petersburg, Va. 23805
Phone: (804) 451-1773

 

Portsmouth Community Employment Center
313 High Street
Portsmouth Va. 23704
Phone: (757) 499-3824

 

 

Governor McDonnell Announces $1.5 Million in New Funding for Virginia's Comprehensive Prisoner Re-Entry Program  Includes Supplemental Grant from Verizon Wireless to Provide Mentoring for Women with Substance Abuse Issues in Southwest Virginia 

Will Establish Re-Entry Docket Pilot Program for Coordinated and Comprehensive Planning and Programming

 RICHMOND - Governor Bob McDonnell today announced initial funding for his strengthened prisoner re-entry program currently under development.  Under the leadership of Banci Tewolde, appointed by the Governor to serve as the state's first prisoner re-entry coordinator, the Commonwealth has secured federal funding for three components of the Governor's comprehensive prisoner re-entry initiative.

http://www.governor.virginia.gov/news/viewRelease.cfm?id=375

 

About the Virginia Prisoner Re-entry Initiative

"The Office of the Secretary is committed to collaborating with local and state stakeholders to develop a comprehensive statewide prisoner re-entry plan for adult and juvenile offenders. By utilizing evidence –based practices, our mission is to develop a seamless reentry process from the point of entry into prison through their transition and reintegration into their community and to establish a unified vision of transition and reentry among and between local and state stakeholders to better prepare offenders for return to their communities thereby improving public safety, reducing victimization and favorably impacting recidivism across the Commonwealth.
The Office of the Secretary of Public Safety is meeting with state agencies, public and private stakeholder groups, faith-based organizations, localities, federal agencies, communities and representatives throughout the Commonwealth regarding prisoner reentry for adult and juvenile offenders."   http://www.publicsafety.virginia.gov/

 

 

The Virginia Prisoner and Juvenile Offender Re-Entry Council

Executive Order No. 11 (2010)

 The Alternatives for Non-Violent Offenders Task Force

"Virginia today has four times as many prison inmates as it did 25 years ago.  To accommodate this growing population, Virginia has added more than 22,000 state prison beds since 1990 at a cost of $1.1 billion in capital costs alone.  In FY2008, the operating appropriation for the Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC) reached over $1 billion, an increase of almost 74 percent since 1998.   

The General Assembly established a task force in 2009 directed by the secretary of public safety to develop recommendations for expanding the use of alternative methods of punishment for non-violent, lower-risk offenders who otherwise would be sentenced to a term of incarceration.

The Alternatives for Non-Violent Offenders Task Force brought together a diverse group of stakeholders.  The task force developed both short- and long-term data-driven policies for non-violent offenders that protect public safety, hold offenders accountable and control correctional costs.  Many of the task force's  recommendation were included in the state’s 2010 budget legislation or are being implemented administratively by the state, while others may be considered by the legislature in 2011". -- The Pew Report