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Organizations That Help Felons Find Jobs

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For a recently released felon, one of the hardest aspects of adjusting to life outside of prison is finding a job. While this is a daunting challenge, there are multiple agencies that help felons find suitable work.

America Works

America Works focuses on job placement for individuals who normally have problems finding employment, including recently released convicts. The program places applicants in entry-level positions and, in many cases, America Works subsidizes the first four months of employment. The program also assigns a case worker to each employee to make sure the transition is working for both the employee and the employer. America Works has offices in New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, California and Washington, D.C.

The Fortune Society

The Fortune Society focuses on helping former inmates become contributing members to society. The Fortune Society provides services to help former inmates find jobs, such as help with creating resumes; retaining a job; and providing help with substance abuse. Programs include a two-week job-readiness workshop on job development and job retention. This program is for people residing in the New York City area.

The National H.I.R.E. Network

The National H.I.R.E. Network is a national organization that works to both provide information and resources for ex-convicts and to help change public policies that hinder ex-convicts from finding employment. The site provides general information for felons on how to apply for jobs as well as a list of local resources based on the person's location.

The Osborne Association

The Osborne Association was founded to continue the work by a former mayor of Auburn, NY, Thomas Mott Osborne, who voluntarily spent a week in the local jail. He was so moved by his experience that he worked for the rest of his life to help improve the conditions of inmates' lives. The Osborne Association provides services to residents of the New York City area, including employment assistance in the culinary, janitorial, and green job sectors.

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Theo Estes started as a commercial freelance writer in 2010. He has presented papers at regional, national and international academic conferences on topics including philosophy, literature and film studies. Estes holds a Bachelor of Arts in English, with minors in communications, philosophy and gender studies from Truman State University. He currently serves as contributor and assistant editor at Video Word Made Flesh.