Why hiring formerly incarcerated people is good for business and community | Opinion Places like Johns Hopkins Medical Center and Butterball Farms have hired the formerly incarcerated for decades. Communities have felt the benefits.

Bettie Kirkland | Guest columnist

We met James in prison.

As his release date neared, the 34-year-old was fearful about the nearly insurmountable odds that he would face in the days, months and years ahead. He was also daring to hope that he could beat those odds through hard work, determination and his desire for a new beginning.

At Project Return, we are in the opportunity business. We are the place that men and women come to, by the hundreds each year, when they’ve just gotten released from prison and want to leave that world behind. Every day, we are embracing them as worthwhile people and connecting them with the opportunities that will spell the difference between failure and success.

These opportunities run the gamut – from food and clothing and transportation, to jobs and career training and advancement.

Breaking the cycle of incarceration

The singular key to their successful future is employment. In a state where imprisonment numbers continue to increase, breaking the cycle of incarceration has never been more important. Providing employment opportunities to people with conviction histories helps reduce recidivism, increase public safety, build stronger communities and strengthen our local economy.

Meanwhile, companies in Middle Tennessee are seeking loyal, motivated, hard-working employees. More and more, smart businesses are taking the opportunity and making the choice to hire people who have conviction histories. This is pragmatism made profitable, and it’s also pro-community. People who are striving to succeed in their newly-gained freedom are eager to become an employer’s next great hire.

Witness the statistical track record of two nationally known employers: Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore and Butterball Farms in Michigan. Combined, they have more than 50 years of experience in hiring thousands of motivated job applicants who have criminal records.

The data is clear: their employees who have conviction histories have actually done better – meaning they’ve stayed on the job longer and they’ve advanced farther – than their employees who don’t have conviction histories.

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There is more to be done. It’s about awareness, consciousness and action. Thanks to the generous support of JPMorgan Chase, we at Project Return will be convening and elevating conversations about and awareness of the benefits of hiring people who’ve been criminal justice involved. This work entails working closely with businesses so that they can hone a well-informed and worthwhile willingness to hire. It also entails measurably increasing the employment opportunities at Tennessee companies for the men and women who are returning to our community after incarceration.

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Good for the community

At a community level, it’s nothing short of transformational. Let’s look at people and see potential, not prison.

As JPMorgan Chase’s CEO Jamie Dimon put it, “Business has a responsibility to partner with policy, business, and community leaders to create an economy that works for more people. When someone cannot get their foot in the door to compete for a job, it is bad for business and bad for communities that need access to economic opportunity. Giving more people a second chance allows businesses to step up and do their part to reduce recidivism, hire talented workers and strengthen the economy.”

For James, the job was the critical piece. And for his employer, hiring James was a winning move. Four years after that smart hire, both employer and employee are thriving. James has grown in skills and responsibility, in sync with his employer whose business has grown and prospered. And our community is better for it.

Bettie Kirkland is executive director of Project Return, a Tennessee nonprofit that is solely dedicated to the successful new beginnings of people returning to our community after incarceration.