Operation New Hope presents Ready for Work reentry services, highlights housing and vocational needs in Tampa Bay

Natasha Goodley, regional director for Operation New Hope, told the Hillsborough County Public Safety Coordinating Council on Jan. 17 that the nonprofit’s Ready for Work and Ready for Release programs provide case management, mental health counseling, job training and transitional housing to formerly incarcerated people and that the organization has recently expanded into Tampa and St. Petersburg.

Goodley said the group received a legislative appropriation to expand beyond Jacksonville and that Operation New Hope now delivers pre-release services in prisons and job-readiness training after release. She told the council the organization provides three months of transitional housing and three months of bus passes, weekly stipends during training, career and technical education supports and connections to employers.

Goodley cited several data points during the presentation: she said about 1 in 3 U.S. adults of working age have a criminal record and that roughly…