Creative Reentry: Healing, Skills, and Belonging

Access to tech and creative industry employment

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Reentry after incarceration in Los Angeles is often met with trauma, stigma, and systemic barriers—especially for people of color. Traditional job programs fail to address the emotional wounds or provide meaningful options for those who’ve been locked out of opportunity. With automation rising and low-skill jobs shrinking, we must rethink reentry. Our program offers therapeutic, entrepreneurial, and creative pathways—from art and firefighting to trades, Cal State LA Rebound, LARRP, and Amity Foundation. We meet people where they are—emotionally, spiritually, and practically—offering individualized growth through animal therapy, emotional regulation, and workforce prep. Not everyone is ready for a job on day one, but everyone deserves a chance to heal, grow, and reconnect with their purpose. This is reentry with dignity, not deadlines. Our mission is to cultivate human potential, rebuild trust, and generate savings for LA by breaking cycles, not people.

Our collaborative program offers a powerful, human-centered reentry model that blends structure with flexibility—meeting people where they are while helping them grow into who they were meant to be. Participants are immersed in a therapeutic environment that includes animal-assisted therapy, music and art workshops, and creative industry exploration to support emotional healing and identity restoration. We incorporate spiritual mentorship, support groups, trauma-informed counseling, and real-world skills training—resume building, AI literacy, and entrepreneurship sessions—to prepare individuals for long-term stability and purpose.
Hands-on life skill opportunities like cooking, literacy classes, and community gardening restore daily dignity and responsibility. Job and resource fairs connect participants with opportunity, while civic engagement through street outreach builds self-worth and community reintegration. Importantly, this is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Participants choose their own healing path—some pursue trades, some explore the arts, others find new meaning through service. Whether it’s starting a micro-business, reuniting with family, or stepping into leadership, we ensure every person is seen, supported, and surrounded by the tools for lasting change. This program not only transforms lives, it lifts entire communities. We set the expectation for our participants allowing them to finally have their own say in a positive, supportive and loving environment.

If our work is successful, Los Angeles County will witness justice-impacted individuals becoming proud, contributing members of their neighborhoods—mentors, artists, entrepreneurs, and role models. Our participants will no longer feel disconnected from their city, but proud to live here—cheering at Dodger games, joining acommunity softball team, leading outreach, showcasing art, and caring for local parks. Through healing, purpose, and opportunity, they will reintegrate not only into the workforce but into the cultural heartbeat of LA. This program transforms men who were once seen as broken into community builders who represent possibility. It shifts public perception of reentry, creates safer neighborhoods, and models how trauma-informed programs can cultivate pride, dignity, and inclusion. LA County becomes not just a place to live, but a place to belong—for all people, including those once left behind. That’s real success: visible leadership, local pride, and lives lived out loud.