RestoreOKC, Inc

PROJECT PURPOSE

Restore Jobs is a job-training arm of RestoreOKC. There are 3 job-training businesses under this arm of RestoreOKC: Wellspring Cleaning Company, The Market at Eastpoint, & the Eastside Eatery. We seek to create employment opportunities within our community that can employ neighbors who remain otherwise un (or under) employed due to a barrier to employment and help them achieve economic mobility through employment. Research nationally shows that unemployed workers tend to have lower education and skill levels, and live in certain concentrated geographic areas. Restore Jobs hopes to be an answer for that in Northeast Oklahoma City which is a historic tract of highly concentrated poverty. Wellspring is a commercial & residential cleaning company started by a single-mother from our community who had significant experience in commercial and residential cleaning but who lost her job during a health crisis. Her dream was to begin a business within RestoreOKC that could employ single-mothers at a living-wage salary and connect them to resources, training & community. Wellspring employed 40 women throughout the pandemic who became CDC-certified in COVID remediation. Our average staff person starts with us having worked an average of 3 part-time jobs across the city, is transit dependent, is attempting to regain custody & makes under $19,000 per year. As we have grown, we have established partnerships with ReMerge, Hope House, Catholic Charities & Homeless Alliance which allow us to act as an employer partner for neighbors regardless of whether or not they may be currently homeless, seeking custody, or have a recent incarceration history. All support would allow us to innovate & scale the business to create new economic & educational opportunities for the most vulnerable in our community.

EVIDENCE

SAMHSA provides a list of supports that are evidence-based best practice. We use UNITE US & Homeless Alliance Case Management software to determine eligibility for suggested interventions and wrap-around services.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

Almost 1 million mothers have left the workforce ? with Black mothers, Hispanic mothers and single mothers among the hardest hit. Almost one in four children experienced food insecurity in 2020, which is intimately related to the loss of maternal income. The reason that we believe these coordinated efforts are so important is that research consistently shows that once you reach a rate of 35% poverty or higher, taxes cannot keep up with the complex needs of the citizens who belong to that community. We believe that this means that the unique needs of our Northeast Oklahoma City community, which is more than 50%, requires a coordinated effort. The Northeast Oklahoma City area has many economic challenges. The median income is less than the county, state, nation; significantly so in 73111 and 73117. The median income in 73117 is less than half of what the median income is for the state and county, punctuating a widening gap between those who have and those who have not. Income levels greatly influence health behaviors and ultimate health outcomes of a population. Northeast Oklahoma City is one of the poorest areas in Oklahoma County with qualitative research blaming lack of economic opportunity as the primary reason the population has not received the recommended preventative services that would be needed to yield a healthy & more equitable community.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

SAMHSA provides a list of supports that are evidence-based best practice. We use UNITE US & Homeless Alliance Case Management software to track & determine eligibility for suggested interventions and wrap-around services. We measure based on an entrance-survey, exit-survey, 90-day survey & then tracking outcomes after graduation. Our average graduate goes on to finish higher-education & lands in a long-term career path with benefits that allow them to break the cycle of poverty & government assistance.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma