• A.R. came to The New Hope Project (NHP) with no driver's license and limited work history. He worked for four months as a mechanic in training through our transitional jobs program. He obtained his driver license and finished an auto program at Milwaukee Area Technical College.

With NHP help he got a job in the auto service industry, where he is now an assistant manager and has healthcare benefits.

 

• CR came to the New Hope Project in April 2006 looking for work and a training program.  He was ineligible for a welding program because of math/reading scores and attended the Children's Outing Association's tutoring sessions to bring up his scores.  While he was in school he worked in a Transitional Job doing maintenance at The Urban Ecology Center.  After bringing up his math and reading levels and qualifying for the welding training, he began welding training in the Fall of 2006, with funding from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections Program.  Upon graduation in January 2007, CR began working at Super Steel Products earning $12.00 per hour.

• In 2005, JW was unemployed and had been in and out of several employment programs. Although he was awaiting sentencing as a party to a drug trafficking crime committed two years earlier, he had made a decision to get out of that world. New Hope found him a transitional job where he kept a good attendance record and received favorable reviews from his supervisor.

When JW was eventually called to court for sentencing, his New Hope representative was there and shared a letter documenting his recent work effort and his participation in parenting programs at The Next Door Foundation. As a result, the judge gave him probation instead of returning him to jail.

JW’s case serves as a concrete example of how encouragement and support can help an individual stay accountable to society while forging a path to a better life.

Results for The Supporting Families Project in 2006: 

·        140  participants enrolled during calendar year 2006;

·        81 participants entered unsubsidized employment:  the median wage was $8.50 per hour, and the wage rates ranged from $5.60 per hour + tips to $17.00 per hour;

·        31 utilized transitional jobs;

·        13 individuals received 30-day retention bonuses, 6 received 90-day, and 9 received 180-day bonuses;

·        9 participants completed skilled training courses with employment results of 80%;

·        5 participants are currently enrolled in skilled training courses;

·        15 obtained their driver’s licenses with help from NHP and Legal Action;

·        13 obtained their driver’s permit;

·        94 individuals have been referred to the LIFE program and  have received advice and help from Legal Action on a variety of matters

·        71 individuals have received help with transportation and work expenses