What We Do

Poverty Cycle

Entire generations of Americans are caught in a cycle of poverty, incarceration, and unemployment.

90%

Nearly 90% of a child’s academic attainment can be predicted by their parents’.

68%

68% of those leaving prison are rearrested within three years.

$50,000

In some states, $50,000 sends one person to prison … the same annual cost as Exeter, the nation’s leading boarding school.

$200,000

Students who don’t finish high school will earn $200,000 less than a high school graduate over their lifetime.

Many young people have faced barriers to success throughout their lives—attending
under-resourced schools, facing daily risks of violence, and having limited access to the opportunities
young people deserve. Ironically, for many young men, their time behind bars is the first time that any significant resources
have been directed toward them.

Environment Matters

The justice system acts as a detriment to progress for individuals. Current interventions in jail bring education programs into the existing environment—a hostile and dehumanizing setting that limits learning and is destructive to individuals’ health and relationships. Education and reentry programs are often too limited to fully support individuals in achieving long-term stability and success. The research is undeniable: the environment matters.To truly empower Americans to escape the poverty cycle, we can’t just tinker around the edges, we need an entirely new approach.