Service Spotlights: Efforts

No one ever thinks about how it feels
to be an ex-offender, just released.
They are not only homeless, but jobless.
They have to learn to live a different
life within the community. Some go
to halfway houses or transitional housing,
but most just do their time and
are released.
There was a time when prisons gave out a bus fare and
said, go for it. Now I’m told they simply suggest showing
the armband from the jail and ask to ride for free.
Finding employment is a must. People are not open
about second chances, but if you have no job, you have
no money, and no place to live. First of all, when looking
for a job you have to tell the potential employer
if you’ve been in jail. If you don’t and you get hired,
and it comes out later that you did time and didn’t
tell them, you can get fired. So it’s like a double-edged
sword. People have a right to know if they’re working
with an ex-offender.
People talk about credit scores stopping people from
getting jobs. You could have excellent credit and be an
ex-offender and go nowhere. Also, sometimes people
get sent to a shelter if they have no place to live. They
could also have medical problems and need special
help. Then there are the children. When they get out,
women and men get their children back and they all
need a place to stay. It is very hard to manage with all
this on your mind. Still, people make it with the help
of organizations like Street Sense, Catholic Charities,
churches and forgiving people like yourself. They can
get money in their pockets by selling enough papers to
help along the way. The government sometimes helps
with things like food stamps or Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF), but you have to have children to
get that. You don’t get help if you’re alone and physically
and mentally able to work.
One program that I found that is aimed at helping
ex-offenders is called EFFORTS — or Employment For
Former Offenders Receiving Treatment Services. But it is
not just for ex-offenders–anyone can use their services.
They have programs for reentry, employment services,
computer literacy, job readiness, life skills, HIV/AIDS,
outreach, family strengthening through counseling, domestic
violence prevention and a fatherhood initiative.
It also offers individual client assessments as well as
Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous recovery
workshops and individual and group counseling. It is
located at 1416 North Capitol Street in Washington, DC.
Everyone can use a helping hand. There are people
who are homeless from all walks of life, and for a variety
of reasons. Maybe someone will read this and find
help. That’s what it’s all about.