Finding a job after serving time is just one of the many pressures incarcerated people face upon release. According to the Sentencing Project, more than 60 percent of formally incarcerated individuals are out of a job one year after their release, and joblessness is one of the key factors that lands former prisoners back behind bars.
In an effort to help change that, we’ve decided to team up with the Center for Employment Opportunities—the country’s leading nonprofit providing career opportunities for the formerly incarcerated—to launch a six-month paid apprenticeship program for people with criminal records.
Videos by VICE
Starting early next year, we’ll welcome formerly incarcerated people to work with us in Brooklyn across our digital channels, in the newsroom, in television and film production, and in other creative roles. Our aim is to help provide those with little to no college or workforce experience with the tools and skills needed to succeed in the media industry.
VICE has a long history of investigating our country’s broken criminal justice system. Just today we launched a series of articles and short videos called The Future of Incarceration aimed at exploring a better way forward in our approach to jails and prisons. VICE’s partnership with the Center for Employment opportunities reflects our belief in the need for change in this area, and we hope it will give those looking to succeed a chance at life outside the system.
