Some Funding Secured for Second Chance Program
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There is some good news about funding for a program that helps non-violent offenders get back in the job market. Jackson City leaders said they have secured funding for about 75 percent of 2012 for the mayor’s Second Chance program. The money is coming from a grant thorough the Department of Justice and will be used to improve job skills and remove barriers to employment. Second Chance is aimed at making neighborhoods safer by decreasing crime, unemployment and increasing household income and housing values. So far, 17 have graduated and 29 are employed through the program. . “When you look at a criminal, you look at there’s a good person in there, they just made some bad choices and what we do, we give them the roles that they need to make the right choices,” said Monique Merriweather, director of Jackson Neighborhood Services. “It helped me find the, you know, get the life that I want, you know, not have to worry about if I’m doing something wrong or looking over my shoulder or anything,” said Desmond Ingram, a Second Chance participant. “I can get up in morning go to work, get off work come home and just take a deep breath and have no worries.” Created in 2009, Second Chance is operated by the city’s Neighborhood Services Division, a public-private partnership linking participants with job opportunities.
