September 2007–State and local elected officials, community stakeholders, and business leaders joined Allied Waste Services and the Safer Foundation on September 24 to tout a partnership that has resulted in the employment of over 1,000 formerly incarcerated individuals, and to call on Chicago-area businesses to work with organizations such as the Safer Foundation to hire people with criminal records. Allied Waste and the Safer Foundation, a Chicago-based non-profit organization, have worked together during the past five years to provide transitional employment opportunities to people with criminal records. The Safer Foundation’s transitional employment program, Pivotal Staffing Services, offers a vehicle by which formerly incarcerated individuals can learn the customs and routines of work, establish a work records and generate employer references to enhance their competitiveness for private sector employment.
“Studies show that more than 80 percent of those involved in transitional employment programs go on to achieve unsubsidized employment,” said B. Diane Williams, President & CEO of the Safer Foundation. “Allied Waste has been an amazing partner in helping hundreds of formerly incarcerated individuals become productive members of our community, and we hope other businesses around the city will follow suit and look to this population for their staffing needs. Doing so help their bottom line and makes the communities safer.”
Since 2003, the Safer Foundation has been the exclusive provider of staffing at Allied Waste’s Chicago Material Recovery and Recycling Facilities. Safer Foundation clients have worked as material sorters, mechanic helpers, baler operators, heavy equipment operators and shift leaders. Employment is a significant component of a two-year program designed to help non-violent offenders get their lives back on track. Individuals participating in the program also receive critical services such as GED studies, job training, and basic life skills.
Bob Kalebich, General Manager of Allied Waste Services, said, “The personnel provided by the Safer Foundation are highly motivated and are an integral part of Allied’s and Chicago’s recycling effort. Allied shares the view of the Safer Foundation that everyone deserves a second chance and Allied is extremely pleased to be able to contribute by employing those seeking to turn their lives around.”
Fifty-four percent of inmates released from the Illinois Department of Corrections in 2000 returned to prison within three years. This fact takes a toll on communities and families, as well as on taxpayers who bear the cost of incarcerating someone.
Employers who help reduce Illinois’ rate of recidivism by hiring formerly incarcerated individuals can take advantage of a number of financial incentives and resources at no cost. Agencies such as the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development have made this initiative a possibility and a priority for the city of Chicago.
Allied’s Kalebich said, “Working with the Safer Foundation to give formerly incarcerated individuals a job and the tools they need to succeed has been rewarding from a financial perspective – and from the perspective of a human being as well. We know that we aren’t just filling a vacancy – we may be saving a life that would otherwise be wasted in prison. We strongly encourage other corporations to think about how their hiring practices might impact something greater than their bottom line.”
About Allied Waste Services
Allied Waste Services is a leading waste services company, provides collection, recycling and disposal services to residential, commercial and industrial customers in the United States. The Company operates 162 transfer stations, 169 active landfills and 57 recycling facilities in 37 states and Puerto Rico.
Allied Waste is the largest waste operator in the Chicago metropolitan area, servicing 1.2 million residential customers over 70 municipalities. For more information, please visit www.disposal.com.
About the Safer Foundation
Safer Foundation’s mission is to reduce recidivism by supporting, through a full spectrum of services, the efforts of people with criminal records to become employed, law-abiding members of the community. For more than 35 years, the Safer Foundation has assisted more than 100,000 individuals with criminal records stay out of prison.
