| Name | Bettie |
|---|---|
| Last Name | Kirkland |
| Home Address | 620 Lindsay Street Suite 100 Chattanooga, TN 37403 United States |
| Organization Name | Project Return |
| Describe Your Role In The Organization | Chief Executive Officer |
| Organization Address | 620 Lindsay Street Suite 100 Chattanooga, TN 37403 United States |
| Website | https://www.projectreturninc.org |
| Best Phone Number To Reach You | 423-609-8986 |
| Alternate Phone Number | 615-327-9654 |
| Email Address | bkirkland@projectreturninc.org |
| Alternate Email Address | khall@projectreturninc.org |
| Please Describe Your Project In Detail | Every year, approximately 14,000 individuals leave prison in Tennessee, but more than half of them will be reincarcerated within three years. Research shows that employment is a leading indicator for remaining free from incarceration. The formerly incarcerated, however, face the nearly insurmountable odds of stigma and employer reluctance. Other challenges include a lack of various components of job readiness: transportation, identification documents, work experience, skills/training, and professional, job appropriate clothing. To stand in that terrible gap between incarceration and permanent employment, Project Return operates PROe (Project Return Opportunities for Employment). PROe is an employment-creating social enterprise – an innovative, mission-centric business model within our nonprofit organization – built to be people’s best first job after incarceration. With PROe, we are able to hire people immediately after prison for paid, real-world work – typically lasting at least three months – through which they gain income, job skills, our chauffeuring to and from, job coaching, and the wraparound support that is essential for successful reentry. This kind of supported employment is proven to have successful outcomes; a recent study out of Georgetown University suggests that employment-creating social enterprises like PROe result in greater economic mobility for those who have been historically excluded from job opportunities. Project Return contracts with area companies and provides them with the high-quality staffing services of PROe. PROe’s success is fully realized in its aftermath: when our transitional employees, who’ve established their own proof of concept through their job performance with PROe, are able to be hired by external employers who need workforce but were not willing to be the first employer after prison. We launched this employment-creating social enterprise in Chattanooga in September 2021, and we now have five active contracts with employers whose workforce needs our being met with our motivated, hard-working employees, and more business development opportunities are underway. This funding will be used to scale the enterprise and build additional capacity for growth. |
| Please explain how your project meets the requirements of the American Rescue Plan | One of the primary focuses of the American Rescue Plan is to minimize the astounding negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which were felt even more acutely amongst marginalized populations. People come to Project Return without employment or any prospects. Upon arrival to Project Return, our participants are immediately put on a path toward employment. They are immersed in our job readiness curriculum and made aware of our transitional employment opportunities and, within a week, have the opportunity to begin gaining income, on-the-job training, and work experience. A recent Prison Policy Initiative study shows that the unemployment rate for formerly incarcerated people is almost five times higher than the unemployment rate for the rest of the U.S. population. The continued support of PROe in Chattanooga creates more job opportunities for the formerly incarcerated, and at a critical juncture immediately after incarceration, thereby mitigating the disastrous economic impacts on this marginalized population. |
| Where would your project take place? | Much of our work takes place in our office in downtown Chattanooga at 620 Lindsay Street. Of course, our participants are at various job sites each and every day through our transitional employment partnerships with local employers across the region. |
| How much will your project cost in total? | 1000000 |
| Do you have any matching funding sources from other local governments, private entities, non-profits, or philanthropic entities for your project? | Yes |
| Please describe the source and list amounts of any other funding. | $2.9M: DHS TANF Community Innovation (expires in Sept 2022) $125,000: City of Chattanooga for purchase of vans $40,000: corporate & private donations $10,000 Unum Social Justice Fund |
| What portion of the project are you asking the city to fund? | |
| If funded, when would your project start? | February 1, 2022 |
| How long would your project take to complete? | We are poised now to scale this innovative social enterprise. If awarded, Project Return is able to utilize this funding immediately upon receipt. This funding will be put to use to continue building capacity to expand this employment-creating social enterprise, thereby providing more job opportunities for our participants. |
| What milestones would you use to measure your project’s progress? | Project Return has a track record of success, measured along two main metrics: high employment and low recidivism. Each year, Project Return sets performance goals based on these metrics and sets processes & procedures around achieving those. We aim for a job acquisition rate that is above 80% and work with each participant to achieve that. Our participants come to us of their own volition, and we meet that motivation with job opportunities, in addition to a full array of signature wraparound services. Project Return has a history of a <20% recidivism rate, while state and national rates tend to be above 50%. We achieve low recidivism through our ardent focus on employment and by working closely with participants and service partners. We hope to develop 10 additional contracts and transitionally employ 100 people through PROe during this funding period. The contracts we gain throughout the City of Chattanooga will allow us to continue employing more people and will contribute to our overall sustainability as an organization, as it will serve to generate revenue to then put back into our program. |
| How would you ensure accountability and transparency throughout the project lifecycle? | Project Return has a commitment to real-time data collection and is transparent with its funders about that data regarding the success of the program. Project Return is accustomed to supplying monthly or quarterly reports on performance outcomes and will eagerly comply with any reporting practice that the City of Chattanooga wishes to institute for this funding. |
| If successful, how would your project benefit the community? | The work of Project Return benefits the community at multiple levels. Reducing recidivism and saving taxpayer dollars, while changing lives and working closely with local businesses to meet workforce needs – this is the focus of Project Return. Recidivism carries real costs –financial, social, and emotional, as well as multi-generational. Beyond the high opportunity cost of finite resources going toward extensive and repetitive correctional measures – a drain on local coffers, and a diminishment of public health and safety – there is the compounding breakdown of households, neighborhoods, and the communities they comprise. More than beneficial, the life-changing work of Project Return is transformational: every person who gets out of prison and stays free and lives productively is effectively flipping the narrative and reversing the trajectory for themselves and their families, and the city as a whole. PROe, in particular, has its own unique impact on the community. Transitional employees have a greater chance of long-term employment and significantly lower recidivism. Outcomes at Project Return from our long-standing operation in Nashville substantiate this understanding: among all participants, the recidivism rate is consistently less than 20%, but recidivism is even lower – 3% in 2021 – for those we transitionally employ. In addition, PROe helps to address labor shortages in the community by providing a reliable and motivated workforce to local employers. |
| How will you attract community buy-in for your project? | As a Tennessee nonprofit organization originally based in Nashville, Project Return created a strategic directive in 2017 to explore our expansion to other geographic locations. Beginning in 2019, we devoted concerted time to getting acquainted with the Chattanooga community and exploring in particular the sentiments and concerns regarding both criminal justice and workforce development in Chattanooga. Once we secured the start-up funding in Fall 2020 to plan and launch our Hamilton County office, Project Return leaders focused primarily on relationship-building across all sectors of the community. Our grand opening in November 2021 was well-attended by public officials, employers, nonprofit leaders, and foundations alike. We have received contributions from revered Chattanooga-based corporations as well as from local community members, and will continue to nurture that support. We have benefited genuinely from the enthusiasm of the Chamber, who understands that the work of Project Return brings solutions to the workforce quests of Chamber members. We have cultivated opportunities for local media exposure, resulting in newspaper, radio, and tv features of Project Return Chattanooga. Our partnerships with other service organizations are an essential aspect of the success of the people served by Project Return. Prior to opening, we established such partnerships with local medical clinics, child support offices, transitional living facilities, and many others. Also essential are connective relationships with private employers – of all sizes/types, throughout the metropolitan area, and across industries. Through these employment partnerships, we are helping to meet the workforce needs of the community while also providing opportunity for those returning from incarceration. These cross-sector partnerships create widespread buy-in within the community and will develop in tandem with our continued growth. Our Business Development team will also continue working to develop partnerships with local employers who are needing the kind of workforce that we can provide. We have had great success in connecting with employers so far, and we anticipate that continuing as we grow. Of course, our most hoped for buy-in is amongst our clientele—those individuals who arrive in the City of Chattanooga after being released from correctional facilities with little to nothing to their name. They face nearly insurmountable odds and a dearth of opportunity. Within a few months of opening, we have already served nearly 100 men and women on their way to a full and free life after incarceration. Project Return has collaborative relationships with state penitentiaries and local jails, and an established practice of frequenting facilities to connect with those nearing release. We will continue our in-reach efforts in local jails and state prisons, as well as our outreach to transitional living facilities and across the community, in order to ensure that our prospective participants are knowledgeable about the life-changing opportunities to be gained at Project Return. |
| Is there anything else you would like us to know about your project? |