A new name, but our fight for living wage employment stays the same.

Detroit is one of the most politically and economically marginalized communities in the country. To make matters worse, people of color and native Detroiters have largely been left out of Detroit’s recent “resurgence”. Detroit remains challenged in providing resources for all its citizens – especially the estimated 5,000 citizens returning to Wayne County each year from prison. Poor people, especially people of color, face a far greater risk of being fined, arrested, and even incarcerated for minor offenses than other Americans. Detroit cannot fully come back without providing opportunity for all its residents.

At a time when baby boomer workers are aging out of the workforce, employers need all the new candidates they can find. For all of the city’s residents to be fully incorporated in its resurgence, those who were formerly incarcerated and other “low-income” residents must be central and given opportunities for success. The JOBS (Job Opportunities for a Better Society) Project would act as a hiring hall for locals by systematically recruiting and bringing together individuals who face ongoing discrimination in the job market because of a record of past offenses and others within our community who struggle at finding employment to participate in the program.

JOBS trains its participants to act on issues as leaders in their communities and in their workplaces. Through strategic partnerships with employers throughout the Metro Detroit region, JOBS has put Detroit citizens to work in living wage jobs.

Participants, guests, and leaders gather at two training sites. We share our stories, listen to each other, and become leaders as we take part in this second chance jobs movement.