Aspire
The Aspire program provides incarcerated individuals within 90 days of release from prison with pre-release job training and supportive services. Once released, Goodwill will guide participants through barrier-removal services, job placement, career coaching, family reunification and more holistic resources.
Participants will then reside in the Louisville area and participate in a work-and-learn program for a minimum of 90 days. While employed, they will study to earn credentialing and participate in incentivized Aspire workshops, where mentoring, mental health and job-readiness will be highlighted at Goodwill Opportunity Centers.
Institutions partnering with the Aspire program include:
- Roederer Correctional Complex (La Grange)
- Luther Luckett Correctional Complex (La Grange)
- Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women (Pewee Valley)
- Blackburn Correctional Complex (Lexington)
- Western Kentucky Correctional Complex (Fredonia)
- Little Sandy Correctional Complex (Sandy Hook)
- Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex (West Liberty)
- Pilot reentry centers for the Aspire program are St. Patrick’s (Louisville) and Portland (Louisville)
To help provide services to participants, Goodwill’s Aspire program has partnered with:
- KentuckianaWorks (job-readiness training)
- Jefferson Community and Technical College (credentialing)
- The Transformative Justice Mental Health Clinic (mental health counseling, high risk)
- Maryhurst (mental health counseling)
- Martin & Muir (addiction counseling)
- Mission Behind Bars & Beyond (mentoring)
- Kentucky Association of Manufacturers (employer and job-readiness training)
- Legal Aid Society (expungement and legal services)
Contact:
Jessie Ferguson, Goodwill director of prison and justice initiatives
(502) 751-2516
Jessie.Ferguson@goodwillky.org
The Aspire program is funded by a $3,995,264 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Pathway Home 4 Program.
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