The CEO Academy’s graduation on May 7th will go down in history as one that received the most credentials—a total of 27 out of 29  graduated with a certificate in either plumbing or electricity from Hostos Community College’s Division of Continuing Education and Workforce Development. We were fortunate to have Council Member Maria del Carmen Arroyo, the Vice-President and Co-Owner of Massartre Ltd and the Project Executive Director of Joy Construction provide encouraging remarks to the graduates.  More importantly, many family members and friends came out to show their love and support for their hard work and determination to successfully complete the training.  The most memorable part of the graduation was when John Land’s three year old daughter ran to the podium and embraced her dad as he was presented his certificate in plumbing.  Lastly, thanks to CEO staff for their unwavering support, especially those who attended the graduation and jumped right in to serve the graduates and their families. Thanks to everyone for making Cohort 7′s graduation a memorable one!

Karen Keith’s May 3rd article titled “Business Viewpoint: Seeking Assistance for a New Kind of CEO,” focuses on the many successes of our office located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Tulsa World contributor describes CEO’s overall program, from Life Skills Education to transitional work and finally full-time, unsubsidized employment. Keith writes that the transitional work performed by CEO work crews has helped improve the Tulsa community immensely, and we plan on continuing our hard work!

To read the article click here.

Chuck Sudetic of the Open Society Foundations blog recently wrote about CEO’s efforts to help formerly incarcerated individuals find full-time jobs and reduce recidivism, while also highlighting three of our participants from our upstate Buffalo location. This article proves how hard our Buffalo office, as well as each of our other offices outside of NYC, works everyday to achieve our organization’s goals. As Jamel L., one of the participants interviewed in the blog, put it, “CEO was a help when no one else was. Everyone said, ‘We’ll call you.’ But no one called, except CEO.”

To read the article please click here.

The Center for Employment Opportunities’ very own Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Mindy Tarlow recently contributed to the Huffington Post’s blog. Her article, “Making a Difference in 7 Million Children’s Lives,” described the rippling effects of individuals being released from incarceration, including the effect on the 7 million children in the United States who have an incarcerated parent. CEO’s multimedia project Released with Conviction portrays the stories of nine individuals returning home from incarceration in New York City, in particular their experiences reconnecting with their families, the workplace and the community. One-third of the individuals featured in Released are parents, and they poignantly discuss their reflections about their children’s roles in their journeys.

To read the article click here.

The Center for Employment Opportunities was highlighted by New York Times writer Tina Rosenberg  in the “Opinionator” yesterday! The article, “Out of Jail, and Into a Job,” describes our transitional jobs program and how it helps prepare formerly incarcerated individuals for full-time employment. Rosenberg also mentions the recent evaluation of CEO by MDRC, which found that our program reduced recidivism by 16 to 22 percent for people who started within three months of being released from prison, compared to a randomized control group.

To read the article click here.

Are you a small business owner looking to hire? We have a workshop for you! Next Wednesday, March 28th from 6-7:30pm, the Center for Employment Opportunities in partnership with the Brooklyn Business and Career Library will be hosting a workshop called “Debunking the Myth: Hiring the Formerly Incarcerated.”

This workshop is geared toward small business owners who might be interested in learning more about hiring a person with a criminal history. The workshop will help inform potential employers about benefits available to them if they hire a formerly incarcerated person, and address any concerns and questions.

The workshop takes place at the Brooklyn Business and Career Library, 280 Cadman Plaza W. at Tillary St. You can get there by taking the following trains: 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, F or R and the following buses: B25, B26, B38, B41, B52, B65 or B67.

Questions? Contact Beth Kempner at (212) 422 4430 x449 or bkempner@ceoworks.org.

On March 14th the Center for Employment Opportunities hosted a workshop in partnership with the Brooklyn Business Library. The workshop was geared to the formerly incarcerated who are seeking employment. The workshop was very engaging and inspired those in the audience to take advantage of available services. We were able to share a great deal of information through the workshop’s facilitators—Victor Ellis, Team Director and Mary Lewis, Life Skills Educator—including services offered by CEO, interview tips, and documents needed. Thanks to everyone for an informative session!

If you missed the panel discussion of Released with Conviction at the Central Library, Grand Army Plaza last month, you can watch it now in this clip! Panelists include Stephen Levin, Councilman of the 33rd District in Brooklyn; Mindy Tarlow, Executive Director of CEO; Nick Higgins, Supervising Librarian of Correctional Services; and Baron Johnson, a CEO program graduate and participant featured in the project.

Clip courtesy of Brooklyn Independent Television, a community media program of BRIC Arts | Media | Bklyn.

The workshop takes place at the Brooklyn Business and Career Library, 280 Cadman Plaza W. at Tillary St. You can get there by taking the following trains: 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, F or R and the following buses: B25, B26, B38, B41, B52, B65 or B67.

Buffalo began their newly created partnership by assisting with a rehab project on Windspear Avenue in Buffalo.  This new collaborative model can demonstrate how not-for-profits can braid services to benefit the missions of both organizations.

CEO participants will directly assist Habitat for Humanity in renovating and building new properties around the City of Buffalo for eligible families. This partnership will give CEO participants the ability to gain necessary skills to work in the field of construction; all while giving Habitat for Humanity, an all-volunteer organization, additional laborers to complete more projects for families in need of stable housing. In addition to the on-the-job training that CEO participants will receive on the transitional job site they will also be eligible to receive free training in OSHA 10 (construction), Healthy Homes, Lead, Asbestos, and Mold, thus giving participants the essential skills to be successful in the field of home construction or in a ‘green’ jobs related field.