News
Midday Magazine

Initiative looks to help the formerly incarcerated find jobs

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Paul Tuthill
Published December 12, 2022 at 11:31 AM EST
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio
A survey of formerly incarcerated people in western Massachusetts found 40 percent said they did not know where to turn for help in getting a job or housing
Will Anderson

Western Massachusetts EDC finds region has plenty of programs, but lacks coordination

The Western Mass Economic Development Council is working to better coordinate programs to help formerly incarcerated people obtain jobs and housing.

A survey of nearly 200 people who had served time found nearly half were not working for pay a year after being released. Roughly 40 percent said they did not know where to turn for help.

The EDC’s Springfield Works initiative is partnering with community organizations to help connect formerly incarcerated people and their families with resources.

WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with the director of Springfield Works, Anne Kandilis.

NewsSpringfield Works
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Paul Tuthill
The record-setting tenure of Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. The 2011 tornado and its recovery that remade the largest city in Western Massachusetts. The fallout from the deadly COVID outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers Home. Those are just a few of the thousands and thousands of stories WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill has covered for WAMC in his nearly 17 years with the station.
See stories by Paul Tuthill