About

Richmond Educational and Community Services (RECS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting formerly incarcerated youth in Richmond, Virginia and surrounding areas.

Our organization offers resources such as professional development, postsecondary career planning, short-term job placement, mentoring, educational support, and life skills training.

RECS supports justice-involved youth ages 15 to 18 through a 12-week program that helps participants overcome barriers, create a stable foundation, work toward self-sufficiency, and obtain living-wage employment.

Program

Participants in the RECS program receive the following services:

  • Dedicated mentoring from an "advocate" (a mentor who assists with achieving goals, obtaining essential needs, and reinforcing the program's curriculum)

  • Weekly life skills and professional development sessions

  • Participation in a paid, six-week culinary training program

  • Connections to wraparound services and essential needs

  • Exposure to in-demand career occupations of interest

  • Academic tutoring and counseling

  • Incentives for meeting program goals

  • Short-term job placement

Mission

RECS supports formerly incarcerated youth through a program consisting of professional development and career training, job placement, educational assistance, postsecondary planning, and holistic mentoring in order for participants to reduce recidivism, earn a living wage, and develop self-sufficiency as they envision and realize a pathway to thriving adulthood.

This program was developed as a result of the founder's experience observing a need for resources serving this specific population of youth as they return to the public school system after being released from juvenile detention.

Outcomes

Outcomes for RECS participants include:

  • Receiving compensation for career training in addition to incentives for completing goals in the program’s curriculum prior to job placement by the end of the program.

  • Action steps and academic support to complete their high school education or GED.

  • Practical strategies in areas such as violence prevention, conflict avoidance and resolution, financial literacy, and accountability for their actions.

  • The ability to overcome the stigma of their previous circumstances and reduce recidivism, aided by connections to community-based resources and program staff.

  • Soft skills that, combined with postsecondary planning, and exposure to various careers will result in them becoming workforce-ready young adults prepared to flourish in their chosen fields.

Empowering Youth, Building Futures

Creating a pathway to thriving adulthood and a pipeline to living-wage employment for justice-involved youth.

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