Delaware DOL launches Roadmap to Reentry employment brochure
DELAWARE – New tools are now available for those looking to reenter society following incarceration.
“What it does is provide information and resources to individuals who’ve been recently released, and it’s a guide for finding gainful employment,” said Department of Labor Secretary Karryl Hubbard.
In the Department of Labor’s launch of the Roadmap to Reentry formerly incarcerated individuals can expect to find opportunities that strengthen their skill sets. “We not only help people with basic skills and training, we also assist with enhanced training, whether it’s getting a CDL license, whether it’s food service license to work in a restaurant, whether it’s barbering, whether it’s going back to school to get basic skills for skilled trades,” said Hubbard.
Mike Brickner with the ACLU of Delaware says basic necessities are hard to access when resources like these aren’t provided. “They often times struggle to get employment and to get housing. And when they don’t have access to those resources, it just makes it much harder for them to fully acclimate to being back in the community and to be successful in their rehabilitation,” said Mike Brickner, the Executive Director of the Delaware American Civil Liberties Union.
Brickner says those barriers can lead those individuals to another sentence behind bars. “They’re not able to get affordable and sustainable housing. And so often times then they could end up being homeless. They could have to stay with family members and they might fall back into crime,” said Brickner.
Having access to jobs and housing, Brickner says will set formerly incarcerated individuals up for better outcomes. “It means that they’re much more likely to rehabilitate, to be successful, and to give back to the community through paying taxes, through supporting their families, and through helping to stimulate the economy with their paychecks as well.”
To access the Roadmap to Reentry, view below.
