Teresa Hodge knows all too well how hard it is to rebuild a life after prison. After serving almost 5 years for money laundering and fraud, she struggled to find a job, weighed down by the stigma of incarceration that caused people and employers to look at her with mistrust.

Both in prison and as she transitioned back into normal life, her rock was her daughter Laurin, who made time to call and visit her mother regularly at Alderson Federal Prison Camp, 4 hours away in Alderson, W. Va. It was during these visits that the two, anticipating the struggle ahead for Teresa, began brainstorming a business plan for a nonprofit that would help women coming out of prison get back on their feet.

In 2012, the pair turned that business plan into Mission: Launch. Based in the Washington, D.C.–Baltimore area, the organization connects formerly incarcerated women with employment, counseling and other reentry services that can help them achieve self-sufficiency and reintegrate into society. In 2015, it began an entrepreneurship program called Mission: Launchpad to help women start businesses, effectively creating their own employment.

“With access to capital and opportunity, these women have immeasurable potential as entrepreneurs,” Teresa says.

Coming Home

For women returning from prison, reentering society can be almost as stressful as going to prison. Trying to find stability can seem like Sisyphean task for people coming home, as they struggle to find employers who will hire them, landlords who will rent to them and people who will trust them with a criminal record hanging over their heads. Women face particular difficulties; they have higher rates of depression, lower self-esteem and greater difficulty finding jobs than their male counterparts, research from the Sentencing Project has shown. Yet the vast majority of services are targeted towards men, according to the National Institute for Justice.  

This reentry problem is large and growing. The number of women in jail is up fourteen-fold since 1970 — from 8,000 to 110,000 — compared to a four-fold increase for men, according to the Vera Project. Women now make up about a tenth of the more than 2 million people who are incarcerated in America. Another million women are on parole or probation. (About a third of the U.S. population has some kind of criminal record, according to the National Employment Law Project.) 

Mission: Launch is focused on the main obstacle to self-sufficiency for the formerly incarcerated: finding a job. Yet finding work, and finding it quickly, is vital because lengthy unemployment typically sets off a chain reaction of problems for people recently released from prison, such as homelessness and crippling debt. And the financial instability caused by unemployment is one of the strongest predictors of subsequent criminal activity and recidivism.

Yet people returning from prison face very high unemployment rates. Indeed, in Mission: Launch’s Washington turf, the rate is a staggering 46 percent, according to Council for Court Excellence. That’s because the obstacles to employment are significant, even for those who committed nonviolent crimes, which describes 66 percent of women incarcerated in the U.S., according to Bureau of Justice Statistics. Time in prison can leave gaps in people’s resumes, and they often lack relevant experience and skills to compete in the job market and need training. Gaps are particularly stark when it comes to fast-changing technology skills, since people will fall well behind during multi-year prison sentences.

[Related: How ‘Orange is the New Black’ Inspired This Luxury T-Shirt Company]

On top of all this, employers routinely decline to hire people with felony convictions, even if they are well qualified. Take Teresa, who was repeatedly turned down after telling employers about her felony until a friend got her a position as a paralegal. For women without connections from friends and family, a felony conviction can become an insurmountable barrier to employment.

To address this problem, Mission: Launch in 2014 founded the Rebuilding Reentry Coalition, which brings together area groups that help people returning from prison and develops software to help reentry providers coordinate better. The program hosts “hackathons” — or events where people work collectively on technology-based solutions to a problem and then create prototypes of proposed solutions — and has created several software applications.

For example, Fair Chance Employment enables governments to more efficiently enforce fair-hiring legislation for people with criminal convictions, including bans on asking about criminal convictions during initial job applications. And Clean Slate DC guides people through the process of sealing their criminal records under the D.C. Criminal Record Sealing Act of 2006.

And to help formerly incarcerated women start their own businesses, the organization in 2015 created an entrepreneurship program called Mission: Launchpad with the help of $50,000 from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Opportunity through Entrepreneurship

For women returning from prison, entrepreneurship carries particular challenges. Already facing an employment challenge, they typically don’t have jobs to fall back on or the personal savings that most entrepreneurs use to fund a new business. Meanwhile, friends and family may not have the money or desire to help them fund a startup.

[Related: Entrepreneurship Provides New Hope for Former Prisoners]

Nevertheless, entrepreneurship is a popular option, says Laurin Hodge, in large part because it gives people hope and a way to find work. Outside the Washington-Baltimore area, programs like the Prison Entrepreneurship Program and Defy Ventures say they have served hundreds of people returning from prison.

Mission: Launchpad began last year with a pilot cohort of three entrepreneurs who went through a 10-month program to learn the fundamentals of starting a business. The group took classes on securing contracts, marketing and self-promotion, finding capital and the technology skills needed to make their businesses competitive.

This pilot group was comprised of Teresa and two other entrepreneurs. After finishing the training program, one entrepreneur started an event-planning company that has recently begun hiring staff to deal with rising demand. The other launched a marketing-consulting firm, which has become full-time work for its founder. Both entrepreneurs asked not to be named, citing concerns that publicity around their criminal records could hurt their businesses.

Following the success of the pilot, the Hodges now plan to run a second cohort of 20 would-be entrepreneurs through the program, hopefully starting in the spring of 2017.

The entrepreneurship program is not intended to create multimillion-dollar companies, Laurin says. She considers it a success if participants create a side businesses that enables them to make some extra money and achieve an extra layer of financial security.

Whether or not they achieve more than a part-time gig, women returning from prison bring a real skill set to the businesses they start. “There is resilience that people who go to prison have,” Teresa says. Surviving in prison and afterward equips them to deal with the obstacles and failures entrepreneurship entails.

The Hodges have found that they, too, have a deep well of resilience. The pair wants to expand Mission: Launch’s programs, including its entrepreneurship initiative, and expand their network of criminal justice reform activists.

It could help that, in June, the Open Society Foundations named Teresa a 2016 Soros Justice Fellow. During her 18-month fellowship, she plans to focus on bridging the technology gap faced by people returning from prison and on making new technology more accessible to them. She and her daughter believe that, given a second or third chance, people will strive to better their lives after prison.

“It is unfair to permanently burden people involved with criminal justice system… after they have served their sentence and paid their debt to society,” Laurin says. That’s why she and her mother are determined to help the formerly incarcerated take advantage of opportunities to start again.

The post A Mother-Daughter Team Brings Opportunity to Formerly Incarcerated Women appeared first on The Story Exchange.

Check out these 5 women-led crowdfunding campaigns:

1. Empowering Female Artisans (via Indiegogo)

The Business: The Women’s Partnership Market (known also as WPMarket) is a social enterprise focused on helping women artisans in the developing world enter the international marketplace. Founded by Rachel Hartgen and Dana Camp Smith, the Denver-based organization hosts an online shop where women can sell what they make. WPMarket also partners with similarly driven organizations to further its goal, and runs programs like the “Artisan Thrive Training Program,” which teaches them skills to help them earn money to support themselves and their families.
The Money: WPMarket is hoping to raise $20,000 to set up and launch two new Artisan Thrive Training Programs in Ghana and Guatemala. The campaign has a month left to go.

2. Simple, Well-Made Beauty Products (via Indiegogo)

The Business: Annette Chu is the founder of Emfysis, a new, all-natural skincare company “inspired by a desire to honor and celebrate the natural and unique beauty in each of us.” The San Francisco-based venture is developing lotions and more made from minimally processed cold-pressed plant oils. According to Chu, this preserves the plants’ valuable nutrients and makes her products compatible with all skin types.
The Money: Chu is looking to raise $13,863, and will use the funds to create and share her products, which are only available through Indiegogo currently. There are 19 days left, though thanks to the crowdfunding site’s Flexible Funding option, she will receive money whether she meets her target goal or not.

3. Handcrafted Glass Vases (via Kickstarter)

The Business: Berlin-based artist Jeanne Koepp has been a working ceramicist since 1990. Now, she’s looking to create a line of glass vases and other objects. Koepp, who is also a gallery owner, learned how to blow glass in Murano, a small island near Venice famed for its glassware. Working with a glass master she meet there, she is creating her first collection, called “Bellezza” — and needs help to complete it.
The Money: By Dec. 9, Koepp hopes to raise $4,980, which she will use to pay for materials and more to finish 15 vases.

4. Expanding the Little Owl (via Indiegogo)

The Business: Kiki Pertesis owns The Little Owl Spa, which has been offering pampering services to customers in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., since 2011. The spa currently occupies a small space in an office building that, initially, was more than enough. However, as word of The Little Owl spread, the space became inadequate for the influx of clients. Now, Pertesis wants move to a bigger space and hire another massage therapist to accommodate increased demand.
The Money: Pertesis is looking to raise $10,000, with 18 days to go. The money she raises will be used to cover construction costs and new equipment purchases.

5. Remembering the Holocaust (via Kickstarter)

The Business: Jovanna Popić, another artist hailing from Berlin, is looking to create an art installation for the Croatian Association of Artists in Zagreb that will commemorate the Holocaust. Based on testimonies of survivors and their families, the audio-visual installation will feature five large, suspended metallic vertebrae with speakers playing recordings of individuals from the former Yugoslavia talking about their experiences. Popić hopes to finish the installation in time for International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27, 2017.
The Money: Popić aims to raise $31,791 by Dec. 23. The money will go toward completing her installation.

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Check out these 5 women-led crowdfunding campaigns:

1. Eco-Friendly Tours (via Indiegogo)

The Business: Allison Caton started Isle of Reefs Tours to introduce customers to the natural beauty of the Grenadines. Based in Carriacou, Grenada, her company offers visitors boat and hiking tours of the island, as well as turtle watching expeditions and introductions to local cultural programs. Now, the highly rated tour company is looking to expand. Caton has already purchased a second boat with her savings. She now hopes to outfit it with a low-emission, energy efficient outboard motor that will allow her to give longer tours with a smaller carbon footprint. Caton also wants to add bird-watching and kayak tours.
The Money: Caton is looking the raise $31,500 by Oct. 21, and has already raised 28 percent. The bulk of the funds will be used to purchase the new outboard motors. The $31,500 goal is flexible, ensuring that Caton will keep whatever her campaign receives, even if she falls short of her goal.

2. News You Choose (via Kickstarter)

The Business: Claudia Irving is looking to launch a Los Angeles-based digital news company and app called Commit News. According to her campaign, the outlet will give readers a voice in editorial and content decisions by allowing them to tell Commit News which stories they want hear more about, and which ones they want Commit to really dig into. “Unlike a lot of news apps out there, we don’t compete as a traditional news source or an algorithm that predicts what you’ll want to read,” she says.
The Money: Irving hopes to raise $50,000 in the next 19 days and has pulled in 23 percent of that total so far. If she reaches her goal amount, the funds will go toward developing a beta version of the app and hiring writers.

3. Telling the Troops’ Stories (via Indiegogo)

The Business: A daughter of Army veterans and former servicewoman herself, Laura Law-Millett started the GI Film Festival to educate civilians about the experiences of veterans through film. The festival, held in Washington, D.C., tells the stories of the women and men in the military both while they’re in battle and after returning home. A nonprofit, the GI Film Festival started in 2006 and has been attended by celebrities, service members and members of Congress. “After seeing too many movies portray veterans in a very negative light, I decided to do something about it,” Law-Millett says of launching the festival.
The Money: GI Film Festival is looking to raise $25,000 in the next 14 days, and is currently at 11 percent of that goal. The funds generated by the campaign will be used to hire staff. Law-Millett also opted for a Flexible Funding campaign, ensuring that she will keep whatever money people pledge.

4. Activewear That’s Got You Covered (via Indiegogo)

The Business: The idea for Oola came to Qatar-based entrepreneurs Haya Al Ghanim and Amina Ahmadi while climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro together. They were both frustrated about how difficult it was to find comfortable, loose-fitting and modest athletic clothing. Together with designer Lilian Barbosa, they started Oola and began producing athletic clothing designed to meet that need. “We designed Oola activewear for women to brave the outdoors, push their fitness goals and challenge their limits,” the team says in the campaign.
The Money: The trio has already raised their initial goal of $15,000, and are looking to reach their stretch goal of $25,000. The initial $15,000 will go toward finishing production of their tops and headpieces. Additional funding will be used to design new apparel including jackets, pants and swimsuits. Their campaign has 20 days to go.

5. A Classic Combo of Coffee and Donuts (via Kickstarter)

The Business: Founded in 2014, Cara Nader’s Lansing, Mich., coffee shop, Strange Matters Coffee, has become too popular for her current space to handle. So she found a new location that’s double the size of her old shop and is looking to move in by 2017. She hopes the bigger space will allow her to better accommodate the shop’s growing clientele and add an in-house bakery.
The Money: Nader is looking to raise $40,000 by Oct. 30. The money will go toward buying baking and kitchen equipment for the new space.

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