READI CHICAGO RECEIVES $2 MILLION INVESTMENT

READI Chicago will use the $2 million investment it received from JP Morgan Chase to continue its mission to assist those who have experience the criminal Justice system and gun violence. Photos provided by Heartland Alliance
READI Chicago will use the $2 million investment it received from JP Morgan Chase to continue its mission to assist those who have experience the criminal Justice system and gun violence. Photos provided by Heartland Alliance

 READI Chicago receives $2 million investment

BY TIA CAROL JONES
     READI Chicago has received a $2 million investment from JP Morgan Chase. The investment will allow the organization to continue to
be able to provide resources to men at risk of gun violence involvement.
     JP Morgan Chase has also continued to commit to its Second Chance program, which allows for the financial institution to hire people with criminal backgrounds.
     READI Chicago, a Heartland Alliance program, provides cognitive behavioral therapy, paid transitional jobs, as well as support that assists
participants in leading safer, more stable lives.
     Eddie Bocanegra, senior director of READI Chicago, said the goals for READI Chicago include creating a pathway for careers and employment, and creating a safer community by helping to reduce gun
violence.
     “In order for that to happen, something that is very intentional, we have to build capacity for our partner agencies in the communities we are working in right now,” he said.
     Charlie Corrigan, JP Morgan Chase head of Midwest Philanthropy, said JP Morgan Chase wanted to make the investment to READI Chicago because it loves working with Heartland Alliance and READI Chicago. He added, the organizations share JP Morgan’s goals.
     “We want communities that are prosperous, communities
that are inclusive, where everyone has a chance to participate in the economy, and we know we won’t get to that vision unless we are intentional in the way we provide programs and resources for all
community members but in particular, vulnerable community members, and those who have a risk of being involved in violence or have an experience with the criminal justice system, are absolutely in that
category of being vulnerable and yet have so much potential to contribute to our community,” he said.
     Corrigan said on a national level, JP Morgan Chase has supported Second Chance opportunities with its Second Chance hiring, as well as with the formation of a Second Chance Business Coalition. He said supporting second chance employment opportunities and people who have been involved in the criminal justice system is a high priority for JP Morgan Chase.
     “We think that we at JP Morgan Chase can have an impact by our own hiring, so we are actively working to hire more individuals who have
justice involvement, we’re advocating for policy, so how do we make policies that reduce barriers at the federal level so that more people can be hired and they’re not excluded and they can participate in things
like Pell Grants, and programs that help people get training and education,” he said.
     Corrigan said JP Morgan Chase wants to use resources to invest in programs that deliver results, like READI Chicago. He said the investments are charitable donations, but they call them investments
because they see a return.
     “We see a return and impact in the lives of participants of
READI, for example. We’re seeing participants reduce their participation in violence, we’re seeing them gain skills, we’re seeing them gain some
stability in their lives that we think will lead to a return on that investment and their ability to have productive lives and to reach their own goals,”
he said. “When it comes to Chicago, we just have a great partnership with Heartland and the READI Program.
     And, this grant builds on work we’ve been doing together since 2017. And, we think this grant will be a major support to serve their participants even better.”
     Bocanegra said in his experience, in government and even philanthropy, sometimes people do it to feel good. He said what he values about READI’s partnership with JP Morgan Chase is that it has
been done through the lens of race and equity. “They recognize in order to address systemic issues, in order to address issues around employment, and by that I simply mean, how do we tap into a workforce that is constantly being marginalized. People who have been formerly incarcerated, people who have been victims of gun violence, they
have to wrestle with so many other barriers,” he said. “And, there’s not just a cookie cutter solution to address those issues. You need a long-term strategy to provide an intervention and to also see the benefits of those intervention services.”
     Bocanegra said READI Chicago has been able to
hire more than 100 staff in communities the organization is working in on the South and West sides of the city. He said those communities have been impacted by gun violence as well as criminal justice involvement.
     “I would encourage philanthropy and government to look at their investments in a very similar way, to invest in long-term solutions. We
are wrestling with decades of marginalization and disinvestment.
So, it’s really important that we continue to find pathways for our marginalized population that they too can be acknowledged as part of the community, and as part of the employee sector,” he said.
     For more information on READI Chicago, visit www. heartlandalliance.org/readi/.
     For more information on JP Morgan Chase’s Second Chance Agenda, visit tinyurl. com/x2pryt2b.

Latest Stories

Latest Podcast

Sydney Blaylock-The local skater with national experience