When Work Works, We All Win
By: The Doe Fund
Tags: Homeless, Opportunity, Employment, Homelessness, Work

It is no exaggeration to say that every community in America is struggling with homelessness, mass incarceration, and unemployment. Unfortunately, current efforts to address these crises have long fallen short. We need to build upon what is working while re-imagining more efficient, effective, and inclusive solutions.

For over 30 years, there has been one proven, data-driven answer on how to bridge the partisan divide with common purpose and common sense to tackle these massive challenges. It can be summed up in two words: Work Works.

Some organizations focus on housing first, which is crucial for those experiencing homelessness who are considered “chronically homeless” and “special needs.” Some provide nightly emergency shelter. Both are essential, but neither alone is enough to be a permanent solution.

What we have seen, over and over again, is that the power of a job is fundamental in helping people turn their lives around. The simple act of earning your way is a powerful building block that enables one to begin prioritizing goals and what is necessary to accomplish them.

Rather than focusing on one part of the solution, the Work Works model is holistic, offering a full spectrum of care including transitional housing, paid work, adult education, supportive services, and career training. This one-stop-shop approach is ideal for those experiencing homelessness or returning from incarceration who do not have a physical disability or mental illness preventing them from working. The only thing keeping these individuals from making positive contributions to society is the lack of opportunity to do so.

The un- and under-employment of those who have experienced incarceration—disproportionately people of color due to the racial inequity in our criminal justice system—leads to a loss of 1.7–1.9 million workers and between $78-$87 billion in GDP per year. Similarly, 78% of people experiencing homelessness are unemployed, denying them the opportunity to escape poverty. It is both morally and economically unconscionable for our nation to continue ignoring their talents. The benefits that we would reap as a society from reconnecting these individuals with community, family, and opportunity is immeasurable.

In New York City, The Doe Fund’s Ready, Willing & Able program offers formerly incarcerated and homeless men paid work in social enterprise, coupled with a safe place to live and comprehensive social services. Over 28,000 individuals, overwhelmingly Black and Latino, have obtained mainstream employment and independent housing thanks to Ready, Willing and Able.

This pioneer of Work Works has inspired many others to seek and adapt equally successful solutions. At two locations in Colorado, the Ready to Work program is a testament to the universal power of the model. Similar replications—including Georgia Works, RWA Philadelphia, and Ready, Willing & Working in Washington, DC—prove that Work Works can be part of every community’s continuum of care, adaptable to the specific needs of any region.

Work Works has the potential to move hundreds of thousands of people off the streets each year, and to save hundreds of millions of dollars by leveraging earned revenue and better deploying taxpayer funds through investment in human capital.

Rather than the one-size-fits-all approaches commonly advocated for as solutions to homelessness and recidivism, Work Works can create bipartisan solutions that help communities across America. Whether red, blue, or purple state, whether an urban, suburban, or rural community, Work Works is inspirational, practical, and transformational.

America has long been called the land of opportunity, but for too long that opportunity has not been available to the most marginalized among us. The universal value we place on work can be the tie that binds our fractured country, a path forward that creates action and results instead of partisan wrangling.