Beacon of Hope: Group provides rides to those struggling with transportation to work
For people who are struggling, a job may not be enough. They also need a way to get to work. A Lower Price Hill company fixed that problem. (WKRC)
CINCINNATI (WKRC) - For people who are struggling, a job may not be enough. They also need a way to get to work.
A Lower Price Hill company fixed that problem.
Sam Logan is the transportation coordinator for Beacon of Hope. He pulls into the Hillman Group in Forest Park to pick up some workers just finishing their shift. Stacey Wilson works full-time there filling orders. It's a good-paying job she feels lucky to have.
"Yeah, we get full-package benefits. You come in the door with two-week vacation and five sick days. I mean, coming in the door. Not after the year. Coming straight in the door," said Wilson.
Health insurance and benefits allow her to take care of her sons and 2-year-old granddaughter. Wilson's life has been rocky. She was incarcerated and was deemed unemployable by some companies.
At Nehemiah Manufacturing in Lower Price Hill, 85 percent of the workers have been convicted of a crime.
"When we hired people that needed a second chance and people with criminal records, how our loyalty was incredibly good, so our turnover was low. And so, we got a bunch of employers interested in giving people a second chance, but not all of those employers were in the urban core," said President Richard Palmer.
Palmer says it's been so good for business, they created a nonprofit called Beacon of Hope to help other companies have the same success. In just two years, 70 employers have joined the Business Alliance and created 400 jobs. They also fixed the problem of getting there by providing drivers who run passenger vans.
The first two weeks of the transportation program are free.Then after that, when employees start collecting a paycheck, it's $25 dollars a week. The ultimate goal is to help these employees find their own way to a job.
Wilson is working on getting her own wheels. For now, she rides with Logan. Taking public transportation from her house in Avondale to her job in Forest Park is impossible. Her shift starts at 6:30 a.m. and the bus near her home doesn't start running until 5:30 a.m. Plus, she says it would be nearly a four-hour walk commute. She would have to catch three buses and walk two miles.
"We really see it as a bridge between not being able to get to a job and therefore being unemployed, to starting to earn that paycheck, think about budgeting and then work their way into reliable transportation," said Palmer.
Transportation and a good-paying job turn these "hard to hire" workers into quality employees. Each person is now equipped to ride on the right lane of life toward financial independence.
Beacon of Hope also helps employees with things like housing, financial education and substance abuse.
