-Everybody have a good week? *Cheers*
-Work some magic, ok?
This is Richard Bronson--and back in the day, Richard worked for the infamous brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont.
Immortalized in the 2013 film.
We were just making all this money and we didn't care about anybody at all.
Of course, we were breaking the law every day, doing things that we shouldn't do.
And rightfully, I was punished for it.
Richard ended up spending two years in prison.
It was an experience that changed his perspective in a lot of ways
But it was the time leading up to his release that really clarified things for him.
I was freaking out towards the end. I had no money,
I just didn't know where I was gonna live, what I was gonna do, and who I was.
But I couldn't help but reflect on the fact that here I am, a white male in white corporate America with a good college education,
with a lot of business experience
You know--
What about the guys I was in prison with?
What were their chances if it was this hard for me?
It kind of...
Crystallized to me what my real calling in life was
and that is to help my brothers and sisters coming out of prison.
-So Richard started a job board for people with criminal records called 70 million jobs.
and each and every one of them go through intense pain in
finding a job.
We've created a platform whereby these folks can find jobs with employers that are willing to hire them.
Unemployment in the general population is very low
but as it relates to people with records, unemployment has never been higher.
It's close to 30%
there's a
66% chance that someone released from prison will be
rearrested within three years.
And almost an 80% chance they'll be arrested within five years.
Interestingly, they are almost all unemployed at time of arrest.
And that last insight is key.
The National Institute of Corrections
reports that as many as 89 percent of those re-arrested are unemployed at the time of arrest.
The reality is that most employers don't really want to hire people with criminal records, and that's where Richard and 70 million jobs come in.
Richard wants to create a place where companies that are open to hiring ex-offenders
can access talent and the applicants don't have to worry about how to explain their record or gap in employment history.
And that's a welcome change for people like Kevin Bruce.
-Kevin? -Hey, how's it going?
I was incarcerated for 35 years, I've been out six months and since my second month out I've been employed
They were only dealing with companies that already knew you had a record
It's such a big difference to go into an interview and not have to explain that.
When I went to work with them, that's the first thing that man said when I sat down with him.
You're the guy from 70 million jobs. I said Yep.
So he already knew wasn't even an issue and I was hired that day.
-Where ya going? -BART.
-How important is it to have those transitional jobs?
It's--I can't even I can't even explain the importance of that. It's so important.
It is like the number one thing people need out here in transitioning out of prison.
It's a powerful influence on the way. You see yourself because when you come out, you're not sure what's gonna happen. So there's this
paranoia fear and all kinds of doubt and, and...
we need things like this.
It took away the fear and let me know that
There's people out here to support me and there's people out here to get me on my feet and going
as long as I take the initiative and go.
These are people that if they just had one less door slamming in their face, they're gonna do just fine
They're gonna do great on the job, which is gonna set the stage for that employer to hire more people with criminal records
My goal is to get a million people
employed. 1 million.
Acceptance. Is probably the biggest thing they treat me like a normal human being, they work with me every day and they see my demeanor
They see my nature and they see
the real me, I hope. Acceptance is crucial to reintegrate.
I got a place. I'm happy right now. That's a big thing.
I'm starting basically a dream job. I want a career. I'm in a company that can do that for me
I want to leave this world better than it was when I was here.
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