RINLA has joined the Phoenix Project! Vantage Point, a social service agency committed to providing vulnerable populations with evidence-based treatment, operates the Phoenix Project out of Rhode Island’s Department of Corrections (RIDOC). Its goal is to provide education and support services to incarcerated individuals and to address the needs of the people at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) enhancing their chances of success upon returning to their communities. Selected candidates are engaged in training addressing needs for a healthy lifestyle, including employment. The Phoenix Project partners with professionals across industries to offer specialized training opportunities to program participants.
This July, RINLA staff joined members of the Phoenix Project and delivered presentations on Growing Futures programming at the Men’s Minimum Security Facility and Women’s Gloria McDonald Maximum and Medium Security Facility. We discussed what it is like to work in our industry and met with interested individuals. Growing Futures Career Catalyst program and upcoming bootcamp were both topics of great interest to those we met with, some of whom expressed an interest in participation. We were encouraged to hear that a handful of the candidates involved with Phoenix Project had previous work experience in gardening, landscaping and tree care. A few described the vision of establishing their own businesses once they have completed their time at the ACI.
This past year, in 2022, RINLA began working with Phoenix Project, when they referred two individuals to our Career Catalyst jobs training program. Both of these individuals had been home for only weeks upon being admitted to the pre-apprenticeship training, and by the end of their five weeks with us, they had graduated the program, attended the job fair and been placed with RINLA employers. We are happy for their successes, and the benefits to our industry. We are looking forward to the continued work with Phoenix Project!
Written by Mason Billings