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criminal histories seeking employment upon their return to their
families, and the community at large. In an interview with B. Diane
Williams, its President and CEO, we gain further insight into the
complexities and needs of the population served, as well as the
depth of commitment required to produce change.

Lingk: Could you give us some background on The Safer Foundation?

Williams: The Safer Foundation was incorporated in 1972 to help
ex-offenders re-enter their communities and find gainful employment. What
we have learned over the last 35 years, is that just finding folks a job is not
enough. Our programs are designed to surround ex-offenders with the key
support services necessary, as they prepare to go to work and help them
stay at work once they get a job.

We have developed a number of services that we provide directly.
From an institutional perspective, we are inside two prisons and the Cook
County jail. What we do inside the prisons, is help people prepare to go
to work through a facilitator led classroom experience. In addition to that,
we administer aptitude test designed help us discover their levels of skill
and interest and we provide them with access to our computer labs to help
them increase their computer literacy.

Once they are released, we help them find work necessary to buy the
kinds of things required for a job, (for example boots or a hat) and also,
help them for a year beyond placement to ensure that they have the
necessary support to stay at work. Beyond that we link those returning
home from these institutions, with other not-for-profits in their communities
that will provide them with substance abuse treatment and other kinds of
services necessary for their success.

We run transitional houses (previously known as work release centers).
Inside of these facilities we are helping people who are within six to
24 months away from release to find work, connect with family, gain
access to education and treatment prior to release, with the hope that it
will increase their opportunities to make good choices once they leave
here. This final piece which constitutes 72% of our population is really
making a difference in helping individuals once they are released.

We also offer GED classes, which is an interesting model to study.
56% of our clients get their GED education within an eight week period of
time. When you consider the fact that these are people who have always
failed in educational scenarios, it's pretty remarkable to see them get a
GED in that short span of time. Beyond this, we offer them other literacy
opportunities and support them in a number of other ways. Our intent is
to find employment for our clients within a network of employers who
need entry level candidates for various positions. Naturally, we do get
clients who have some background, but we really do try our best to
place them appropriately. Continues page 2