Reasons why IT matters.
Citylab Professional
CityLab Professional is a leading advocate of equitable technical education, access to computers, related frontier technologies, and local employment resource distribution. And, we strive, in every arena, to bring about universal technological enfranchisement that leads to affordable housing.
We invite, initiate, and actively encourage partnerships and collaborations with individuals and organizations that offer resources in support of this mission.
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Fresh Start
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In the United States, about one in three people have been convicted of a crime. That means millions of people have a criminal record and can’t get a job.
Most experts agree that one important thing a prison education can do is to give freedom to people who have been convicted of crimes.
These studies show that former offenders are much less likely to go back to prison once they’ve been released and also that apprenticeships help businesses and create jobs for many ex-offenders.
Prison-based apprenticeships were established by The Occupational Educational Program in the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) with the purpose of helping people who were previously or currently incarcerated gain marketable skills through a variety of different occupations.
Later in 2015, the BOP partnered with the U.S. Department of Labor and Office of Apprenticeship to create and develop an apprenticeship standard that all participating programs would have to follow.
At this time we began our pursuit of a California-based program that
These kinds of educational training programs exist in prisons to help equip inmates returning from prison with knowledge, skills, and abilities that help them overcome the many barriers they experience when attempting to reenter the job market.
Many of these are focused on building the basic skill levels of participants. Correctional facilities can partner with either career civil-service vocational training instructors or create contracts with colleges and technical schools to provide related technical learning for their apprenticeship programs.
Johnny is a motivational speaker for those who are incarcerated or homeless. He brings enthusiasm to his engagements and is able to provide a message of hope, courage, and determination,” he said. “He’s been a part of the business team since they’ve been here.”. He also works as a Cisco Certified Teacher of IT Essentials and wants to help teach the incarcerated how to build their own personal computer.
My Fresh Start began backward.
“My first job was at Goodwill Industries of San Antonio, Texas. The irony is that my career began as a janitor, for the Army Airforce Exchange Service (AAFES) Headquarters. My staff comprised 3 -4 young adults with learning disorders, and each night we would get in our small school bus and clean the floors and offices in the building.
The irony is that just four years earlier, it was the same AAFES that brought charges against me that in part led to a conviction in 1986 while stationed in England. Later I served time at Ft. Leavenworth, KS, and received a Dishonorable Discharge for bad checks.”
Learning how to Code in Maximum Security
Despite the odds, Johnny Lee Clarke has beat all the statistics and become an entrepreneur and a motivational speaker. He has dedicated his life to helping inmates and homeless individuals who are incarcerated or on the streets. Johnny offers them a path of success, hope, and peace by helping them find their inner passions.
He provides these people with a space to rebuild their lives and learn how to live again.
By the numbers, it is estimated that 2.5 million families experience homelessness in one year. Out of those, it is believed that 1.35 million are children.
Although those are just estimates, it is clear to see that homelessness affects enormous numbers of people and, more importantly, their families.
Meet Your Neighbor Dinners (aka Munchyfest) was initiated by CityLab Professional as a way to bring community members together in order to help homeless families get on their feet for long periods of time.
The event is designed to give people who have no home a place where they can take some time away from homelessness to enjoy dinner with their neighbors, who might be able to help them find more permanent solutions in the long term.
If you would like to partner with us and help other families stay off the street for longer periods of time, please feel free to reach us here: Knock Knock Give a Sock. If you would like to get information by text message you can use the word “Knock”
The problem for most participants was keeping a job, as one of the needs for safe housing. The logistics of work, child care, and education simply took too much time, and without bus fare or a car, it was impossible to stay employed.
Through the creative process of small workshops led by artists and other individuals who have ‘been there” or are currently experiencing homelessness, they found solutions to their challenges by:
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A person can become homeless due to diverse reasons such as leaving an abusive relationship or with a mental illness.
Imagine, being thrown out of your house because you didn’t pay the rent. This is not just a nightmare, it becomes an everyday reality for hundreds of people every month.
Your neighbors are also vulnerable to this condition.
The goal of Munchyfest is to promote awareness of the issue of homelessness in our community and help those who suffer from it be integrated back into society by connecting them with resources that can help them rebuild their lives.
After spending several years working on this issue, CityLab’s director is committed to helping families that are experiencing homelessness by trying to find out what they want to do.
The Homeless Families workshop is a platform where the families themselves come up with creative ideas on how they can stay together and improve their livelihoods.
In 2015, more than 1 million people experienced homelessness.
There are a lot of poor families in the United States that are experiencing homelessness right now.
Families that are living without a home, are coming together to share food and stories of their journeys into homelessness and how they were able to change this tragic situation.
Envision, a cold world where you have to make a choice. You can go hungry or you get to go home. If you are almost out of money and your phone is dying. Hunger would be an option but what about your kids?
What if I told you that there is more than one choice? What if I told you that there is an option for you in this world and if you want to give yourself a hand, I can help?
Listen, we all are fighting for some piece of bread, some space to live in but it does not matter what you are going through someone else has gone way worse than you and did not let the circumstances affect their lives. They had the energy and courage to fight back even when there was nothing left in them, they decided enough is enough.
About Summer Dreams
CityLab Professional a look inside: The aim of this exhibition is to recognize human dignity as well as inspire people with the stories of these participants so that they might be equally empowered to take action towards improving their circumstances.
Imagine, you are out of a job, without any place to go. Your kids’ school has just closed down and you have limited resources to survive. That is what happened to over 9000 families in San Jose during the 2020 Pandemic.
What would you give up for a reliable internet connection? A heated room? An ergonomically correct chair? A perfectly positioned monitor? It’s a tough decision and one that 2.1 million Californians have to make each day.
At the CityLab Professional Technical Lab, we focus on the individual’s perspective and their path to self-reliance.
It’s a place where team members listen and respond to their client’s needs in a unique way that resonates with their client’s cultures.
The exhibition not only showcases the experience of organizations but also provides opportunities for visitors to learn about different facets of homelessness in Santa Clara County.
It is always frustrating to not have any permanent place to stay. Most of the time, the family without a home will be spending most of their money on places like hotels and shelters.
The family felt they were paying too much for their housing expenses with no way to deduct these amounts from their monthly welfare checks. They are also living in constant fear that they might lose everything they had if they lost their checks.
With innovative ideas and a lot of hard work, families experiencing homelessness were able to save so much money that they could afford to pay rent or buy a house for the very first time in their lives.
CityLab communities are people who are experiencing homelessness and live in affordable apartment units. The majority of them work or looking for work to sustain their current living arrangement.
As a professional from our community, you have a deep understanding of homeless issues you might be interested in as we would like to share with you our innovative programs aiming to create permanent housing solutions for the homeless community living in
Imagine yourself in this situation…