A New Path

Here it is: The last blog post of 2021! It’s hard to believe that Covid is still among us and issues we have been facing for years still hang heavy over our heads, but still, I feel a change coming.

I believe violence is reaching its zenith, that illness is no longer going to control us, and that a wider, more tangible feeling of good will is coming over our country and our city. I see a trend that serious issues are attracting the attention of the wider community so that many hands can truly equal lighter work and better results. There is a time for everything, “A time to sow and a time to reap.” I have to believe this is reaping time.

At UNITE INDY we have been sowing for years and the work we have done has gained amazing momentum. We have been uniting businesses, government, social services, and ministries in Marion County to work together to salvage the human capital that has been lost when people return from incarceration only to find there is no employer who will have them.

UNITE INDY has been invited to occupy a space in the new Marion County Community Justice Center—putting our efforts at the very mouth of the reentry effort. Meetings with city authorities, corrections officers, and volunteers of all kinds, are coming together to support reentrants in a way that has never been done before. Other counties in the Central Indiana area are jumping in as well—pushing aside the way things have always been done, to welcome an effort that yields results of better outcomes through a unified effort—an effort that recognizes that good jobs bring dignity and security to individuals and families alike.

The benefits of these efforts are legion. To mentor and support a man or woman who needs a second chance is the important beginning, but when we add social supports, training, and employment we can change the trajectory of a life. A reentrant who brings meaningful financial support to his or her family also gains personal dignity and a restored position in the household, improving the welfare and cohesiveness of the family unit. Studies show that with an employed reentrant parent, educational opportunities and healthy outcomes for children in the home are improved, and an employed parent has the potential of imprinting and upgrading the prosperity of future generations. If that’s not enough, these efforts reduce crime, lower the recidivism rate, and cut costs associated with incarceration.

We are truly on a new path, one that has great potential for all our communities in Central Indiana—a path that recognizes the ability of every one of us to move past our mistakes and make a better life. Now that’s a Christmas present.

Merry Christmas to you and yours,
Nancy