A handful of individuals wearing knit sweaters with intricate patterns, tailored suit jackets, flared dresses, gold watches and shiny dress shoes sit around a large wooden table inside a conference room, marketing their skillsets to potential employers. This isn’t the typical setting one would expect at a community center and organization for offenders and ex-offenders, but it is what is expected at Public Advocates in Community Re-entry, better known as PACE.
PACE provides offenders, ex-offenders and their families the tools to become responsible, productive members of society. They accept anyone with a felony conviction who needs assistance, regardless of how long ago that felony occurred. The organization’s programs and services ensure people returning to the community from incarceration have the tools and resources to successfully re-enter the community. Services and programs include: transitional and pre-release services, pre-employment services, job development and placement and addictions support services.
Shonna Majors, director of employment and transitional services at PACE, said the No. 1 thing people seek at PACE is employment, but some may get a surprise upon arrival.
“I let clients know everyone here isn’t going to do it for you, and that we aren’t a staffing agency, but we will look at their case individually and develop a plan,” said Majors.
Orientation, led by Majors and attended by other staff members, is held every Monday at 8:45 a.m. at their office at 2855 N. Keystone Ave., Suite 170, and is where PACE staff truly get to know prospective clients and introduce them to services available. Prospective clients also complete a thorough assessment about their current life situation, what they would like to improve and other aspects. Based on a prospective client’s assessment score and criminalization risk level, Rhiannon Edwards, executive director of PACE, strategically assigns a case manager to each individual, who will assist in setting and achieving goals.
“They all come in saying they need a job, but we have to figure out if they have other needs that may hinder their employment. We ask questions like, ‘Are you on drugs?’ ‘Do you have a stable household?’ ‘Do you have transportation and do you have child care?’” explained Edwards. “If they think they will be able to walk in here and get a job on day one, they won’t. Our ultimate goal is they don’t go back to prison.”
Throughout the process, clients have access to special resources such as substance abuse programs, legal aid and housing assistance. Once clients return to PACE, they complete a one-day job readiness course, led by Majors, on how to talk about convictions in a job interview, how to market skills on an application to receive calls back, how to build a noteworthy resume, how to sharpen interviewing skills, proper dress for interview and more. In addition, twice per week, individuals who have not completed high school have an opportunity to take the General Educational Development Test (GED).
Job training programs are also available during the orientation. Some of the most popular are culinary arts, forklift, welding and CDL driving certifications. While training clients for potential jobs, PACE also helps clients secure immediate part-time positions through temporary job placement services, local restaurants and retailers.
Edwards noted that job placement assignments are catered to fit an array of individuals, as PACE has a youth employment case manager on staff who deals with those ages 17–25 and other staff who interact with those who hold master’s degrees and Ph.D. degrees.
The amount of interaction case managers have with their clients is based on their level of criminalization. Case mangers specialize in sex offenders and high-risk individuals.
Given the large amount of resources on the table, Edwards said the duration clients spend at PACE varies per situation.
“Some people come in, work with Shonna and are then good to go, but if someone comes in here really ready (for employment) and only has a few barriers to work on, they can be working in a month. If they’re not, there’s a reason to it,” noted Edwards. “We keep it real with them to say, ‘This is how you used to be, and this is how you need to be.’”
Giving second chances
Several clients have had the opportunity to work and volunteer for PACE. Edwards said about 50 percent of its staff are former clients.
“That’s important because they understand what it’s like to be in a client’s shoes. It’s also good to have their input about how to make programs better,” she mentioned.
William Groves became a client of PACE in 2013 and today serves as the youth services coordinator. He came to the organization after facing two felony charges and with little hope he would get back on his feet.
“All I knew was where to buy drugs and how to sell drugs, so I knew the streets, but I didn’t know about any opportunities because I’d never had a job,” admitted Groves, who learned about PACE from his case manager while participating in a community transitioning program. “What PACE did for me was renew my sense of hope by saying I could strive to be a better person and not be bogged down by my criminal conviction. Before coming here I called myself a ‘felon,’ but today I don’t say that word. I’m a person with a conviction. They taught me how to be a person first. Not only did they give me a career, they gave me a future. I tell most of my clients I know it’s rough and they always imply that I really don’t, but then I share my story and that gives them a sense of hope.”
During his time as a volunteer and client, Groves found himself never wanting to leave PACE, and was offered a part-time position at the organization.
“PACE doesn’t just say, ‘We’re here to get your life right,’ they say, ‘We’re here to connect with you,’” said Groves.
Lydon Clanton, who was incarcerated at age 17 and served 21 and a half years in prision, shared similar admiration for PACE. Today, he works as an employment coach at PACE.
“PACE is an investment, because they truly do invest in their clients,” said Clanton. “They look for a return, and it isn’t always measured by their expectations; it’s measured by the progress the client is making.”
In 1990, Bill West, board chairman for PACE, hired his first ex-offender to work for Mays Chemical Co. and in 2007, that individual, who now serves as director of national warehouse for Mays, introduced West to PACE. Following the hire, many ex-offenders were hired and provided a positive outlook for the company.
“Rhiannon Edwards and her staff have done an outstanding job of placing ex-offenders in jobs. In 2014, the over 700 people placed in jobs were done at the cost of less than $500. When you compare that to what it cost a community when an ex-offender reoffends at over $30,000 and re-incarcerated, its great. PACE is one of the best organizations around that gives you a bang for your buck,” said West.
Because PACE concentrates on an individual’s situation, they are involved in a pilot program to truly understand a client’s past. In 2014, the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) received a nearly $1 million federal grant from the Department of Health and Human Services/Health Resources and Services Administration to screen and provide treatment and services to better assist people released from the IDOC who have Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)-related problems as they re-enter their communities.
For the past two years, PACE has been involved with the pilot program in collaboration with Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana, Community Solutions, The Brain Injury Association of Indiana and the American Institutes for Research.
The four-year study’s goal is to see if this new project lessens the rate of recidivism and heightens the chance of success for clients.
Prior to the project, PACE worked with clients and didn’t know why some may have erratic behavior, but with this new project they’re hoping to improve their client’s success rate.
After the pilot, PACE hopes to permanently incorporate the program into their services.
Extending services has rewards
Not only are ex-offenders and offenders welcome at PACE, so are their families, who can receive identical services although they may not have a felony charge. Because of their efforts, PACE has recently been selected as the first all ex-offender center for Center of Working Families (CWF) in the state and will have an official ribbon cutting in January 2016.
Edwards said PACE hopes to do more with the CWF model, especially around financial literacy, as they feel the key component is missing from their services.
“Living in poverty is a big reason why they ended up in the system to begin with. We’re hoping to teach tools on banking, partnering with Habitat for Humanity to learn about purchasing their own home. We want to do more long-term, big picture projects,” she said.
Within the past year, PACE has greatly increased their job placement numbers. According to the organization, 656 job placements were secured in 2013. In 2014, 780 jobs were secured. The staff believes the great increase comes from their active planning of job fairs and their partnership with other community organizations like WorkOne.
PACE said they want to change the way employers feel and think about people with convictions, and don’t plan to make that happen alone. The organization works with several community partners such as The Damien Center, United Way and others.
“They have to be partners that are OK working with this population. Some of our clients come in and they look rough, they are rough, but if you’re afraid or intimidated by that, you can’t be our partner,” said Edwards.
For more information on PACE, visit paceindy.org.
