TradeWorks Academy × Center for Social Change × FIU — An integrated reentry housing & skilled trades workforce pipeline.
Men leaving prison face immediate homelessness. Shelters are overcrowded, waitlists stretch for months, and without a stable address, holding a job becomes nearly impossible. No address means no job — no job means no stability.
America's skilled trades workforce is aging out. Electricians, plumbers, and welders are retiring faster than they can be replaced — while hundreds of thousands of capable men sit idle, locked out of careers that don't require a degree but do require opportunity.
Without housing, employment, and support, most men return to prison. It's not a lack of willpower — it's a lack of infrastructure. Reentry without wraparound support is designed to fail.
Programs only train the men. Even with certificates, they are unable to find jobs. No connections, no support, no path to employment.
We don't just train — we connect men with apprenticeships and direct job placement. We prepare them with interview skills and provide transportation so nothing stands between them and a career.
Most programs intervene after release, not during incarceration. By then, the window for building momentum has already narrowed.
Starting 1 year prior to release, we offer trade education and training. Men build skills, discipline, and confidence while still incarcerated. Behavioral health begins 90 days prior, building mental readiness so they step into freedom prepared.
Education, care coordination, job placement, reentry coaching, housing, and mental health are treated separately. Participants fall through the cracks between agencies.
By coordinating all services under one roof, men develop confidence and momentum. They see progress in every area of life simultaneously — building the self-belief needed to sustain change long after the program ends.
Most reentry programs focus only on job training and ignore housing entirely. Without a stable home, men cycle back to shelters, streets, or prison — no matter how skilled they become.
We lead with stable, structured housing. Before anything else, men have a safe place to live — eliminating the #1 barrier to reentry success and creating the stability needed for everything that follows.
Men are released with no network, no positive relationships, and no sense of belonging. Without community and family, isolation leads them right back to old environments and old habits.
We offer family reunification support, team building, and a positive family-like atmosphere at our homes. Men are surrounded by people who believe in them — creating the community and accountability that sustains lasting change.
TradeWorks Academy
Lead Applicant · Skilled Trades Training & Job Placement
Center for Social Change
Co-Applicant · Housing & Wraparound Services
Florida International University
Academic Partner · Research & Evaluation
From Cell to Career
An integrated pipeline for returning citizens — housing first, skills training, direct employment.
