The Way Out - An Anti-bias Employment Platform

In the Fall of 2019, American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact and gBETA Social Impact hosted a panel discussion at Sherman Phoenix, in Milwaukee. Among the guests were myself and Ruben Gaona...

We were drawn to the event because the topic was very near and dear to our hearts. We, like the panelist on stage, have both experienced being incarcerated and the subsequent challenges of finding a job with a felony conviction.


Eventually, we decided to create a comprehensive anti-bias job platform that would align employers with qualified Justice Involved Job Seekers (JIJS) in their industry, while providing additional services and technologies to help them integrate into their new roles successfully. We understood that not only do JIJS need jobs, but they also need a strong support network at their side. . Unfortunately, it can be challenging for reentry service providers to meet the full breadth of this populations' needs.

What is The Way Out?

Throughout 2020, Ruben & I solicited the feedback of reentry service providers in Milwaukee and Madison about The Way Out's proposed program. We were amazed at the welcome and support that our ideas received throughout the reentry community. Everyone agreed that creating greater access to their reentry clients via an app would be more efficient and help them eventually service more clients.

After completing gener8tor's gALPHA Program (sponsored by American Family's Institute for Corporate and Social Impact) in the Spring of 2020, we decided to make our dream a reality! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yev3vfjbAFE

An Incredible Social Problem

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/

According to the DOJ, almost 700,000 formerly incarcerated individuals are released back into society annually (after annual confinement cost of approximately $24.5 billion per year). Unfortunately, almost two-thirds of them will return to prison within 3 years costing an additional $16.3 billion per year. Why? Unemployment!


Did you know that an individual with a felony has a 50% less likelihood of getting a call back from an employer and their unemployment rate is nearly 25% greater than that of the general population? In fact the current unemployment rate for the recently incarcerated is over 27%, which is even worse than the unemployment rate during the Great Depression!

The Way Out's Solution


1. An Anti-bias Employment Platform that creates a contextual profile of the Justice Involved Job Seeker. A blind profile that removes name, address, history of incarceration and any other information that may cause biases in a potential employer, while positively considering personality traits, personal accomplishments and additional trainings and certifications.

2. While applying for jobs on The Way Out's platform, JIJS will be screened for additional services and matched with a reentry service provider to help address their training and support needs.  

Employers will also be screened and evaluated on their preparedness for working with JIJS. The Way Out will then match those employers with organizations that specialize in the integration of JIJS into an existing workforce.

3. Lastly, The Way Out’s self-learning mobile app will offer real time analysis of stressors that may result in “at-risk” behavior (and subsequently re-offending) of the Justice Involved Employee. Support service providers working with the JIJS will also receive the data (through informed consent of the JIJS) and be able to offer support in real time when stress levels indicate a participant is "at-risk". 

Our Benefit Corporation Business Model

https://bcorporation.net/about-b-corps

We consciously chose to become a  Benefit Corporation so that we would always maintain our focus on those we serve and the communities in which they live. We want individuals served by The Way Out to be able to hold us accountable while ensuring the impact on their communities is measurable. Eventually, we would love to become B Lab Certified and join the ranks of Ben & Jerry's, Patagonia and several other socially conscious brands.

Benefit Corporations: 1) have an expanded purpose beyond maximizing share value to explicitly include general and specific public benefit; 2) are required to consider/balance the impact of their decisions not only on shareholders but also on their stakeholders; and 3) are required to make available to the public (except in Delaware) an annual benefit report that assesses their overall social and environmental performance against a third party standard.

What Now?
In order to officially take our business from our current "paper-pushing" Beta Version to an Official "ready to launch" product, The Way Out is Seeking $20,201 to complete it's Employment Platform, Support App and re-vamp its website. All  of our software and development work will be sourced locally, with a primary focus on Black, Indigenous, Person of Color tech-business owners.

We will only charge employers for using our services and will never charge returning citizens to apply on our platform  or utilize our support app.

With your help, we can achieve our dream for The Way Out and begin having an immediate impact on our local communities by lowering the rate of recidivism, keeping families together and empowering communities!

https://www.twout.org/

We greatly appreciate your contribution and continued support as we look to help decrease recidivism and erase the stigma associated with incarceration through employment! We will continue to keep you updated at every stage of our journey.

THANK YOU,

Eli Rivera, Ruben Gaona, Starla Thompson & Ryan Graham

https://www.linkedin.com/company/twout
https://twitter.com/twoutapp
https://www.instagram.com/thewayoutmilwaukee/
https://www.facebook.com/TheWayOutMilwaukee


VIDEOS: 

The Way Out at Parson’s House
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK91jeG1Sb0

The Way Out a Community Perspective
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yev3vfjbAFE

PUBLICATIONS:

Madison Magazine Article:
https://www.channel3000.com/startup-aims-to-create-meaningful-employment-after-incarceration/

Business Journal:
https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/inno/stories/news/2020/11/17/startup-that-helps-justice-involved-individuals.html

Wisconsin Inno:
https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/inno/stories/profiles/2020/11/24/the-way-out-gives-justice-involved-individuals-a-s.html

Wisconsin Inno
https://lnkd.in/emx73rB