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“The intent of it is to reduce crime and allow young people an opportunity to have new pathways to learn strategies to obtain employment skills,” Calabrese said. “It ties right into the re-entry work we’re already doing here in Clark County.”
OIC is a nonprofit that provides counseling, vocational training, referral services, job placement assistance and other services to assist low-income Clark County residents.
Raquan Bibbs, 22, is working with the organization to learn precision measuring technology. He said had legal trouble in the past but enrolled in Thinking for a Change, a cognitive behavioral program. He’s currently working and said the job skills he’s learning at OIC will provide better opportunities to stay out of jail and earn a better living in the future.
The Young Adult Re-entry Program, funded through the U.S. Department of Labor, also awarded funding to similar organizations in Philadelphia; Wilson, N.C.; and Harrisburg, Pa.
Clark County’s portion will be about $600,00 spread over 24 months, beginning in October this year. It will provide service for about 110 individuals over the life of the program, he said. The existing OIC program is called Opportunities for New Direction.
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“For a community our size, that’s a lot of money,” Calabrese said.
It will specifically focus on men from 18 to 24 years old as way to provide a way out of the criminal justice system or to prevent them from entering it in the first place. OIC staff members will provide cognitive behavioral therapy, provide tutoring for the High School Equivalence Test and provide job training in construction trades.
The grant will also provide resources to offer case management services and training in precision machining in conjunction with Clark State Community College.
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The grant will also allow staff members at the OIC to assist participants with job placement services at the end of the program.
“This particular grant will serve people who are engaged in any type of connection with the courts or the criminal justice system,” Calabrese said.
Clark County Prosecutor Andy Wilson said he wasn’t aware of the specific grant. But in general he said providing adequate employment is a factor that can reduce crime in communities.
“Having a steady job is a factor that we hope cuts down on crime here in Clark County,” Wilson said.
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The grant will provide additional resources locally and provide more options to eventually reduce crime in Clark County, Calabrese said.
“Law enforcement in this community I think is overwhelmed with some of the issues they’re faced with every day,” Calabrese said. “They need all the help they can get. This is a particular area of service that OIC has been involved in throughout our 40-year history.”
$4.25 million: Federal grant designed to provide job skills and other training to men to cut crime.
$600,00: OIC’s share of federal job training grant
24: Months in the grant
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