Project Return, Inc.
Programs
Description
We provide training and certification in two high-demand industries: 1) Construction Readiness Program, which offers construction education that is NCCER certified, and upon satisfactory completion by the participant, results in NCCER credentials. 2) Hospitality Readiness Program, which follows curricula from both the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute and the National Restaurant Association. Participants can earn the Guest Service Professional - Gold Tourism, ServSafe, and Kitchen Cook certifications; each of these three certifications are industry-recognized credentials that lead to increased opportunity for employment in the hospitality industry.
Program Areas Served
None
We provide training and certification in two high-demand industries: 1) Construction Readiness Program, which offers construction education that is NCCER certified, and upon satisfactory completion by the participant, results in NCCER credentials. 2) Hospitality Readiness Program, which follows curricula from both the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute and the National Restaurant Association. Participants can earn the Guest Service Professional - Gold Tourism, ServSafe, and Kitchen Cook certifications; each of these three certifications are industry-recognized credentials that lead to increased opportunity for employment in the hospitality industry.
Program Areas Served
None
Description
PRO Housing (PROh) is our affordable housing initiative dedicated specifically to meeting the permanent housing needs of people who've returned from incarceration, and have gotten their new lives on track, but unfortunately are excluded from the private rental market due to their conviction history. Through PROh, we acquire and rehab/repair modest housing, to lease at affordable rates to people who have conviction histories. We also employ and build the skills of people who were formerly incarcerated, through the necessary rehab/repair associated with our acquired properties.
Program Areas Served
None
PRO Housing (PROh) is our affordable housing initiative dedicated specifically to meeting the permanent housing needs of people who've returned from incarceration, and have gotten their new lives on track, but unfortunately are excluded from the private rental market due to their conviction history. Through PROh, we acquire and rehab/repair modest housing, to lease at affordable rates to people who have conviction histories. We also employ and build the skills of people who were formerly incarcerated, through the necessary rehab/repair associated with our acquired properties.
Program Areas Served
None
Description
Our newest social enterprise, PRO Property Services, is a property maintenance company that will offer landscaping and commercial cleaning services, as well as facility maintenance and make-ready services such as window cleaning, power washing, painting, and light rehab. We aim to create more employment and hard skills opportunities for our people, and we currently have three commercial cleaning contracts in place and are servicing several one-off as well as several recurring residential landscaping contracts. Additionally, we are regularly contracted by two large companies in town to assist with apartment make-ready jobs and deconstruction/preparation work for new residential buildings, while continuing to train our staff and build capacity to service more cleaning contracts and larger commercial landscaping contracts.
Program Areas Served
None
Our newest social enterprise, PRO Property Services, is a property maintenance company that will offer landscaping and commercial cleaning services, as well as facility maintenance and make-ready services such as window cleaning, power washing, painting, and light rehab. We aim to create more employment and hard skills opportunities for our people, and we currently have three commercial cleaning contracts in place and are servicing several one-off as well as several recurring residential landscaping contracts. Additionally, we are regularly contracted by two large companies in town to assist with apartment make-ready jobs and deconstruction/preparation work for new residential buildings, while continuing to train our staff and build capacity to service more cleaning contracts and larger commercial landscaping contracts.
Program Areas Served
None
Description
Participants who have gained long-term employment enroll in our Retention Services in order to increase employment retention and also job advancement. The program offers a variety of services to that end, including ongoing one-on-one and on-the-job coaching, financial education consultations, monetary incentives, and networking at quarterly job retention workshops.
Program Areas Served
None
Participants who have gained long-term employment enroll in our Retention Services in order to increase employment retention and also job advancement. The program offers a variety of services to that end, including ongoing one-on-one and on-the-job coaching, financial education consultations, monetary incentives, and networking at quarterly job retention workshops.
Program Areas Served
None
Description
The Reentry Entrepreneurship Program (REP), an incubator for people who have been out of incarceration for a full year and are successfully employed but want to start their own business, is a partnership with Vanderbilt University Law School. REP pairs each participant with a specially selected mentor from the Nashville community. Participants learn to draft and refine a complete business plan, which they then present to a panel of judges composed of local leaders from the business community. They are then given feedback and seed funding in order to successfully start up their own businesses.
Program Areas Served
None
The Reentry Entrepreneurship Program (REP), an incubator for people who have been out of incarceration for a full year and are successfully employed but want to start their own business, is a partnership with Vanderbilt University Law School. REP pairs each participant with a specially selected mentor from the Nashville community. Participants learn to draft and refine a complete business plan, which they then present to a panel of judges composed of local leaders from the business community. They are then given feedback and seed funding in order to successfully start up their own businesses.
Program Areas Served
None
Description
In Tennessee, incarceration is considered "voluntary unemployment," and therefore people's child support obligations continue to mount while they're in prison, which means that upon their release they face a wall of immediate debt. We work with people to assure that, when they get out of prison, their child support is both understandable and manageable, such that it becomes reasonable and conceivable to engage in legitimate employment. Our unique partnership with the TN Department of Human Services and our in-house expertise affords us the ability to help newly released parents understand, get adjustments to, and begin to pay child support. We delay enforcement and gain time for job acquisition, reasonable payment plans, and modifications where appropriate. Once they are employed, we continue to assist them to make reasonable and regular payments toward child support obligations.
Program Areas Served
None
In Tennessee, incarceration is considered "voluntary unemployment," and therefore people's child support obligations continue to mount while they're in prison, which means that upon their release they face a wall of immediate debt. We work with people to assure that, when they get out of prison, their child support is both understandable and manageable, such that it becomes reasonable and conceivable to engage in legitimate employment. Our unique partnership with the TN Department of Human Services and our in-house expertise affords us the ability to help newly released parents understand, get adjustments to, and begin to pay child support. We delay enforcement and gain time for job acquisition, reasonable payment plans, and modifications where appropriate. Once they are employed, we continue to assist them to make reasonable and regular payments toward child support obligations.
Program Areas Served
None
Description
Financial literacy and money management assistance are infused throughout Project Return's weekly job readiness curriculum, wraparound case management, and ongoing services. We incorporate the FDIC Financial Education Curriculum into our weekly Money Management Class, and also incorporate money management skills into the coaching and case management part of our program services. Our PROe coaches provide ongoing budgeting assistance to our transitional employees, and once they gain regular, full-time employment they are enrolled in our 12-month Retention program, where household budgeting becomes part of every single client consultation. Our Retention Services team works closely with our participants on an ongoing basis, providing assistance with budgeting and money management.
Program Areas Served
None
Financial literacy and money management assistance are infused throughout Project Return's weekly job readiness curriculum, wraparound case management, and ongoing services. We incorporate the FDIC Financial Education Curriculum into our weekly Money Management Class, and also incorporate money management skills into the coaching and case management part of our program services. Our PROe coaches provide ongoing budgeting assistance to our transitional employees, and once they gain regular, full-time employment they are enrolled in our 12-month Retention program, where household budgeting becomes part of every single client consultation. Our Retention Services team works closely with our participants on an ongoing basis, providing assistance with budgeting and money management.
Program Areas Served
None
Description
We provide bus pass assistance and van transportation as an essential part of our participants' successful return. Bus passes give our participants the ability to travel throughout the city to apply and interview for jobs, and then empowers them to get to and from work once they're successfully employed. Additionally, Project Return's small fleet of vans is an essential component of our transitional jobs enterprise, PROe. An essential part of PROe's success is our ability to flexibly and efficiently transport workers to and from worksites. Our vans are crisscrossing the city 24/7 to transport our transitional employees to our employment partners throughout Middle Tennessee (within 50 miles of Nashville), in locations and at times not serviced, or not efficiently serviced, by MTA buses.
Program Areas Served
None
We provide bus pass assistance and van transportation as an essential part of our participants' successful return. Bus passes give our participants the ability to travel throughout the city to apply and interview for jobs, and then empowers them to get to and from work once they're successfully employed. Additionally, Project Return's small fleet of vans is an essential component of our transitional jobs enterprise, PROe. An essential part of PROe's success is our ability to flexibly and efficiently transport workers to and from worksites. Our vans are crisscrossing the city 24/7 to transport our transitional employees to our employment partners throughout Middle Tennessee (within 50 miles of Nashville), in locations and at times not serviced, or not efficiently serviced, by MTA buses.
Program Areas Served
None
Description
PRO Employment (PROe) is an innovative social enterprise that provides transitional employment for men and women returning from incarceration. PROe helps individuals gain work experience, generate a base of references, and demonstrate reliability on the job with the goal of securing long-term employment after three months. Project Return contracts with area businesses - primarily in construction, manufacturing, and hospitality industries - that need reliable, entry-level workers. PROe staffs three shifts per day, seven days per week, and provides transportation to all of our PROe employees. This fills a need for companies that may be located in difficult-to-reach areas or have shifts that start/end with little or no transportation options. PROe serves as the employer for participants, providing oversight, on-the-job coaching, and case management.
Program Areas Served
None
PRO Employment (PROe) is an innovative social enterprise that provides transitional employment for men and women returning from incarceration. PROe helps individuals gain work experience, generate a base of references, and demonstrate reliability on the job with the goal of securing long-term employment after three months. Project Return contracts with area businesses - primarily in construction, manufacturing, and hospitality industries - that need reliable, entry-level workers. PROe staffs three shifts per day, seven days per week, and provides transportation to all of our PROe employees. This fills a need for companies that may be located in difficult-to-reach areas or have shifts that start/end with little or no transportation options. PROe serves as the employer for participants, providing oversight, on-the-job coaching, and case management.
Program Areas Served
None
Description
Project Return staff members visit all 33 prisons and jails in Tennessee on an almost-daily basis, sharing information about the services we offer and sparking connections such that people know that Project Return is a resource for them upon release.
Program Areas Served
None
Project Return staff members visit all 33 prisons and jails in Tennessee on an almost-daily basis, sharing information about the services we offer and sparking connections such that people know that Project Return is a resource for them upon release.
Program Areas Served
None
