Sweet Beginnings: How a Honey Business is Giving People a Second Chance

三分之一的美国人有犯罪记录. This can create barriers to getting a job, finding housing or even earning a degree. 

Excluding people with prior convictions from the workforce can have a massive effect on the labor market. 这可能会让美国付出代价.S. 每年的经济规模估计高达870亿美元, according to a report by the Center for Economic Policy and Research.

澳博官方网站app所提倡的 第二次机会招聘计划 for years to improve economic opportunities for people with criminal records. These initiatives help people build stable lives and be productive members of their communities.

The company doesn’t just advocate for reform; it lives out its mission. In 2022, 10 percent of new 澳博官方网站app hires in the U.S. 有犯罪背景的人吗.

现行政策

In the North Lawndale community on 芝加哥’s West Side, more than half of the adult population has 在刑事司法系统有前科.

But having a prior conviction shouldn’t prevent these residents from getting a job, 布伦达·帕尔斯说, 总裁兼首席执行官 北朗代尔就业网络 (NLEN).

“These are people who have served their time and are genuinely looking for work,棕榈树说. “如果我们不给这些人提供工作机会, then you leave them vulnerable to make poor choices again.”

Palms’ organization provides job training and employment opportunities to people in and around North Lawndale. And the operation is built around one key ingredient: honey.

视频最初由乌木杂志制作.

培养可转移技能

Sweet Beginnings is NLEN’s social justice enterprise for people with a felony conviction. It sells natural honey and honey-infused skincare products under the beelove brand name at local markets, 全国商店和网上.

Participants work for 90 days in the program to learn every aspect of the honey business, “从蜂巢到罐子,棕榈树说. The skills they learn—like working with others and receiving feedback from supervisors—can be applied to any number of other jobs.

The program does more than teach job skills, Palms explains. “当你被监禁时，你就不是一个人. 你是个数字，”她说. “We help people regain their name, to rediscover their own self-worth.”

Since 2008, Sweet Beginnings has hired more than 750 people with criminal records. The business has received national recognition for its work—and for good reason. Less than 10 percent of those who have been in the program return to prison within three years, 根据NLEN.

持续的支持

Over the past several years, 澳博官方网站app has contributed more than $1.900万给NLEN的节目, including $1 million to help expand Sweet Beginning’s production facility. 澳博官方网站app also has led workshops to help NLEN leaders discover new financing opportunities to take their mission to the next level, 手掌说.

“澳博官方网站app has been just an incredible partner in this journey,” she says. “其他公司开始说:‘嗯，等一下. 如果澳博官方网站app(澳博官方网站app)能做到，那么或许我们也能做到.因此，通过与我们合作, they’re opening up minds about what’s possible when you give people a second chance.”

Henry Edwards received his second chance at Sweet Beginnings. 他知道一个人的过去不应该定义他.

“People grow, people change, and people can do good work. They deserve another opportunity to show themselves,他说.

对他来说, the second chance he received has opened the door to a better future—and support for the work he does. “My supervisors and other managers have taken notice of my good work ethic,他说, 这种感觉很好.”

看看澳博官方网站app是如何帮忙的 对整个芝加哥产生影响.

了解更多关于澳博官方网站app的信息 第二次机会倡议.