|
Remarks Prepared for Delivery by
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
Ready4Work Grant Award
Jacksonville, Florida
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Thank you, Kevin [Kevin Gay, Executive Director of Operation New Hope]. I'd
like to thank you and Reverend Garland Scott of City Center Ministries for
your contributions to this project. Your work gives people hope and a second
chance.
I would also like to thank Reverend Tom Diamond of Abyssinia Missionary
Baptist Church for hosting us here today and for the great tour of their
day care and summer camp. You and your congregation are making a tremendous
contribution to Jacksonville and the Ready4Work program.
Today, I am pleased to award Public/Private Ventures with a $10 million
Ready4Work grant. It will help former offenders make a successful transition
to community life and long-term employment in Jacksonville and 13 other cities
across the country.
I am pleased to note that Ready4Work got its
start here in Jacksonville. I want to commend the leadership of Brent Orrell,
Director of the Labor Department's Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives,
for making the commitment to bring this program to life. Operation New Hope
and the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice have also played
an important role in making this program a reality, as well.
This grant is part of President George W. Bush's vision to help former offenders
turn their lives around. As the President said in his State of the Union
address, everyone deserves a second chance.
Together, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Justice and
the Annie E. Casey Foundation have already provided $22.5 million to help
former offenders find jobs and keep them.
The funds announced today will strengthen these efforts.
Finding meaningful employment is important not only to former offenders,
but also to their families and their communities. Research shows that most
former offenders return to their home communities after they are released.
And one of the key challenges they face is the lack of employment opportunities.
Ready4Work helps break
the cycle of crime and imprisonment. It brings together faith-based and community
organizations, the criminal justice system and employers like Home Depot.
Together, they help these men and women take advantage of the growing opportunities
in America's strengthening economy.
Last week's job numbers show that opportunity is thriving in Florida. June's
unemployment rate in Florida is of 4.7 percent—the national average is 5.6%.
And, Florida added 12,000 jobs in June across a
broad spectrum of industries including construction, manufacturing and finance.
These positive employment statistics show that the President's policies are
working and creating good jobs in Florida and across the country.
This grant will help former offenders access these opportunities. Through
mentoring and training it will provide spiritual, mental and physical support.
It will help them find employment, housing, and education. It will provide
them with transportation, food and clothing. And it will help them face and
resolve legal, health, substance abuse and family and community problems.
This comprehensive, compassionate approach gives former offenders a chance
to redeem themselves and rebuild their lives. Only by treating the whole
person can we change a life.
Few people go through life without regrets. That's why there is nothing
so common as the wish for a new beginning. This grant offers a new beginning
to some of the people who need it most.
Faith based and community based organizations do a great job. They should
not be discriminated against as they do their work to help the community.
So, now, I am pleased to present this check for $10 million to Fred Davie,
Senior Vice President of Public/Private Ventures.
# # #
_________________________________________________________________
| 
