Describe your program
EMERGE Connecticut, Inc. is a self-sufficient, social enterprise committed to assisting formerly incarcerated people successfully integrate back into their families and communities. As a certified Home Improvement Contractor, we work alongside formerly incarcerated individuals seeking a supportive and healthy transition home from incarceration through paid employment, training, academic tutoring, counseling, peer-mentorship, coaching, and other services.
What are the coolest, most popular features of your program?
What's unique about EMERGE is our status as a Social Enterprise - giving us the ability to generate earned revenue from construction, landscaping, and property management contracts. Each year, EMERGE generates 35-50% of our annual budget through this work. This allows us to not only pay crewmembers who are learning skills on-site, but also allows us unrestricted flexibility to provide support services that remove barriers in the reentry process.
What impact did your program make in 2020?
In 2020 EMERGE Assisted 76 people through the hieight of the pandemic while they returned home from incarceration. 66% left to full time employment, 86% were still working one year later, and EMERGE maintained a 12% two year recidivism rate to date.
Nominator Justification
Emerge continues to provide supportive services to people coming home from incarceration.
Emerges recidivism rate is at 14%....where the state of Connecticut is getting 50%+ recidivism.
Emerge launched its very successful Restorative food justice program.
