Reggie Jenkins was a social worker for over 15 years, a decade of which was with Housing Works doing advocacy and activism, job coaching, and handling outreach and intake. Nicknamed “The Advocate Guy,” he is passionate about helping people.

Originally from New York, Jenkins was incarcerated in Philadelphia for four years. When he was released to a halfway house here, he didn’t have the support network of his friends and family back home to rely on. On probation, Jenkins was searching for steady income so he could get back on his feet with housing, transportation, and rebuilding his career. Luckily, word of mouth about the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) moves quickly through the parole and probation community. He showed up at their offices on a daily basis, and was persistent enough that a staffer gave him instructions on the referral process he needed to enter the program. He then repeatedly asked his P.O. for that referral until she finally wrote him one.

Just over two years since his release, Jenkins now serves as a Senior Community Intervention Specialist at the CEO. “SCIS for short,” he says with a laugh. He laughs a lot. “I was disbelieving at first,” he says about realizing the scope of the program he’d signed up for. “Is this legit?”

Dedicated to working exclusively with those returning home from incarceration, CEO provides job training, employment, and support services that assist with overcoming the day-to-day barriers unique to the justice-impacted. Established in 1996 in New York City as a pilot initiative of the Vera Institute of Justice, CEO has expanded into 30 cities across 12 states. The Philadelphia site was founded in 2015 in the old Pennsylvania Prison Society building, whose name is still chiseled across the facade.

Walking through the common area on the way to her office to sit down for an interview, Site Director Verna Hamilton addresses everyone in the comfortable, livingroom-like space by name, asking how they’re doing, and offering encouragement to a gentleman who expressed disappointment over not landing a position he was excited about.

CEO’s offices take up two stories in the building. Upstairs on the fourth floor is the library, a lounge, and therapy spaces. The staff offices on the third floor include a large conference room with an ongoing group art project along one wall: a white poster where participants have scrawled their former inmate numbers in colorful markers. It’s a collective effort to leave that experience behind them.

CEO offers resources, advocacy, and opportunities for people with past convictions — essential for a successful transition back to society after incarceration. It’s only made possible by partners and individuals skillfully leveraging their dedication to human services and lived experiences.

How it works

CEO addresses the immediate need for employment for returning citizens directly by becoming their employer of record. The intake process begins with a referral from the Department of Corrections, Adult Probation and Parole, and other community organizations. The application is similar to a common job application, and once accepted into the program, participants attend an orientation with specialists who explain and help fill out forms like I9s and W4s. They receive workplace training on sexual harassment and site safety, a staff handbook with job descriptions and expectations, are issued a card to receive their pay with instructions on how to use it, and introduced to payroll management systems. The idea is to simulate what it’s like to be a new hire.

“This is introducing them to the world of professionalism in an environment with people who care enough to tell them the truth,” Hamilton says.

The official job title is “temporary laborer”. Participants are assigned to crews who work on litter abatement and landscaping. CEO provides all necessary equipment and safety gear. There’s a no cell phone policy for crews; they’re turned in on arrival for the workday. CEO staff use real-time van tracking, visible on a large monitor in the office, to see where everyone is around the city.

Mia Fioravanti is the Vice President of Corporate Affairs at HRP Group and also a Citizen board member. Initially funded by a grant, HRP Group’s Bellwether District site has partnered with Philadelphia Works and CEO to provide transitional employment opportunities for  formerly incarcerated persons through landscaping and beautification efforts. Since 2022, at least 173 individuals out of 274 total who have worked at The Bellwether District have secured permanent employment, some with the contracting companies who worked with them on site.

“I like the each one teach one mentality,” Jenkins says. “Because in my mind, if you do good in the universe, without really expecting anything in return — that’s what I’m here for.”

“The partnership has been profoundly beneficial for both The Bellwether District and the individuals CEO serves,” Fioravanti says. “What began as a time-limited initiative has evolved into an almost five-year partnership that is currently fully funded by HRP Group.”

CEO pays participants a minimum of $15 an hour for four days of work and one day of career support services per week, where they learn how to write resumes, sign up for job boards, and make trips to job fairs. CEO also offers training for trucking licenses.

Many individuals return from incarceration without valid IDs and missing vital documents, making it impossible to open a bank account, secure housing, or further their education. CEO staff help participants obtain those documents, and provide transportation and escorts for visits to parole and probation, human services offices, and the DMV.

The program requires an average of six months to find returning citizens unsubsidized, sustainable wages. Even after they’re hired, CEO maintains the support network with follow-ups for the following year. Participants are incentivized to stay at their new job with rewards once they’ve reached six months of employment — everything from cash to program opportunities with other community partners.

While CEO helps participants with record expungement, they also work closely with employers on second chance hiring, advocating for focusing on the skills someone brings to an organization over their past history.

“There are enough challenges for people to work through without having to constantly be reminded of the past you’re seeking to get away from and live in the present,” Hamilton says. To further that goal, CEO offers weekly group therapy and 1:1 therapy sessions through a partnership with the Center for Families and Relationships.

Partnerships are what keeps CEO running. The Philadelphia branch of The Fountain Fund, a nonprofit offering microloans to formerly incarcerated individuals who would not qualify for traditional lines of credit, is headquartered inside CEO’s offices. In addition to working with other organizations serving returning citizens, there are private companies and city entities that require the work of CEO’s crews. Mayor Cherelle Parker called on CEO to assist with the 2024 #CleanandGreen Spring Cleanup.

Hamilton calls this a “braid of funding.” With a waiting list of 120 individuals, CEO is constantly looking for new funding sources to add more crews and increase the number of participants. They’re seeking employers who meet their standards for both pay and treatment of employees.

“We don’t see the need diminishing. If anything, it’s growing,” Hamilton says. “Another thing that is growing is the need for the supportive services that go into making sure that people are able to work.”

The costs of incarceration

Rubin “Hurricane” Carter is Hamilton’s second cousin. His story of wrongful conviction and delayed justice is portrayed in 1999’s The Hurricane. According to Hamilton, “he was kind of proud that Denzel played him, but that’s a whole other story.”

“I come to this work from the standpoint of, everyone may or may not understand the effect that it has on the family,” she says. “I don’t think people realize that when a loved one goes away to jail, they literally take the whole family with them. It’s not just one person, it’s a community.”

This is one reason why therapy is such an important component to CEO’s work. The stress and hardship returning citizens face is one of many factors that contribute to recidivism. Coping with the emotional impact of release in conjunction with material assistance for housing and employment ensures the best chance of success. Many of the staff at CEO are, like Jenkins, formerly incarcerated themselves, acting as credible messengers who demonstrate that success is possible and also tackling the stigma of incarceration head-on.

The societal costs of incarceration to families and communities are compounded by the cost in real dollars. A 2021 study of spending solely for parole and probation violations and revocations came up with $8 billion across 41 states. Extensive research from The Urban Institute reveals that reentry and reintegration programs produce long-term public savings.

Hamilton once worked for Ford Motor Company, moving between offices in Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Paducah, Kentucky, the “Quilting Capital of the World.” She incorporates that craft in how CEO operates.

“We are all part of one quilt. There are threads that tie all of us together. Respect, receiving grace for mistakes, opportunities to do better, and being loved and valued are all common threads,” Hamilton says. “We are all human and that’s our quilt.”

Emerging Leaders

Jenkins was able to support himself and find stable housing after just three months in the halfway house. He purchased a vehicle, and is now in the process of trying to purchase his first home. “It’s a very long process,” he says, “but it’s literally all because of CEO, because of my employment here.”

He landed his role in supportive services by distinguishing himself on work sites and getting accepted into

the Emerging Leaders Program, a paid 12-week apprenticeship that combines on-the-job learning, mentoring, and professional development.

Now a vital staff member for CEO Philadelphia, Jenkins also coordinates group therapy and escorts participants to the DMV and other service providers to support them as they grow accustomed to asking the right questions and overcoming the fear that accompanies reentry into society.

“I like the each one teach one mentality,” Jenkins says. “Because in my mind, if you do good in the universe, without really expecting anything in return — that’s what I’m here for.”

MORE AID FOR THE FORMERLY INCARCERATED