1 PROGRAM. 3 STAGES. Through our unique 3 stage program, we give hope to incarcerated individuals for a better tomorrow and help employers explore second chance hiring with confidence.

STAGE 1 EDUCATE

Taught while in prison, our 14 week Virtues for Success ™ class teaches students to harness virtues like wisdom, courage, self-control, and justice. These 4 virtues help develop better logic and reasoning skills beneficial not just for landing a job (and keeping it), but for living a better life! This method stands in contrast to other training models that focus solely on right or wrong actions without examining the inner faculties that produce them.

STAGE 2 ADVOCATE

After graduating from Virtues for Success™, an inmate will be encouraged to submit an application for stage 2, called the Inmate Advocacy Program™. If accepted, by reaching this milestone, they become a TRP Fellow and The Redemption Project will connect the Fellow to a dedicated Mentor/Employment Partner. This mentorship typically lasts between 12 weeks to 12 months and will help the Fellow build trust in the workplace. About 60 days before their release, a Fellow will meet with their Mentor for a job interview. If all goes well, the Mentor can offer them a job. And if the Fellow accepts, they can rest knowing a job is waiting for them the day they leave prison. Hope is restored.

STAGE 3 SUPPORT

The Virtue Advantage™ is the third and final stage of our program, which happens when a Fellow begins their job outside prison. Our Fellows have worked hard to reach this stage, but leaving the security of the prison walls and its daily routine can be a challenging transition. As a TRP Fellow reenters society and begins employment with their Mentor/Employment Partner, the Fellow may need assistance with issues like transportation, housing, addiction and education. Although our mission focuses on securing employment, we have strategic relationships with other organizations that can assist with these reentry issues. During the transition, The Redemption Project will become a strong and reliable support for a Fellow by bridging the gap between incarceration and a meaningful life after prison.

Mentor Employment Program Curriculum

OVERVIEW

Without committed and active Mentor/Employment Partners, The Redemption Project doesn’t work. These incredible people have seen the power and potential of second chance hiring and have chosen to take the leap and dive into our process which not only transforms lives and strengthens communities, but is simply good for business.

VOCABULARY AND DEFINITIONS:

Second Chance Hiring – The hiring of individuals with a criminal record.
Recidivism – The relapse of a former felon into criminal behavior and return to prison.
TRP – The Redemption Project
MEP – Mentor/Employment Partner
TRP Fellow – An individual who has successfully graduated from The Redemption Project’s Virtues for Success class. TRP Fellow is used interchangeably with “Mentee Candidate” and “Mentee” for the purposes of this Guide.

Goals of the Guide

The goals of this Guide are to transparently (1) highlight the valuable business benefits of second chance hiring and (2) help prospective Mentor/Employment Partners deepen their understanding of how our process of mentoring into employment works.

Outline

This Guide takes about 60 minutes to complete, but we’ve purposefully formatted the content into smaller, blog-like articles for a more mobile and schedule-friendly training experience. There are 4 chapters made up of 2-4 sections each.

Chapter 1: Getting Started

Section 1: Why Should I Become a Mentor/Employment Partner?
Section 2: What Makes a Great Mentor/Employment Partner?
Section 3: Including Your Team
Section 4: What to Expect from TRP

Chapter 2: Mentorship

Section 1: Mentee Candidates
Section 2: What to Expect from the Prison Environment
Section 3: Communication Methods
Section 4: What to Discuss

Chapter 3: Job Offer

Section 1: A Question of Trust
Section 2: Offering the Job

Chapter 4: Transition and Success

Section 1: Orientation Before Orientation
Section 2: “ACE” the Employment Transition
Section 3: Visualizing Success

Application and Next Steps

If after completing all 4 chapters you want to move forward with mentoring/employing a TRP Fellow, you can submit an introductory application (located at the end of the Guide) along with a Memorandum of Understanding.

After completing the application, if you haven’t met with us before, we will schedule a Discovery Meeting where we’ll: (1) answer any remaining questions you have, (2) find out more about the needs of your business, and (3) evaluate making the best Mentee Candidate recommendation possible. If you have met with us before and we have a good understanding of your business’ needs, we’ll schedule a meeting to recommend a Mentee Candidate.