Operation New Hope Joins Mobile Reentry Unit Ribbon Cutting in St. Johns County
On Thursday February 20th, Operation New Hope Board Members Karen Holt, Stephen Colson, and Ashley Pratt, along with our Board Chair Coley Jones and ONH President/CEO Reggie Fullwood, attended the Mobile Reentry Unit Ribbon Cutting Event in St. Johns County. This innovative initiative, led by the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) and the Florida Foundation for […]
Voices of Hope – Michael M.
“After 27 years of addiction, 2 years of living on the streets, and 6 visits to jail, I finally decided to enroll at Operation New Hope. There, I was given the opportunity to learn things I had long forgotten – things like resume writing and job interview skills. But the most important part of the […]
ONH Launches New Motherhood Parenting Program with Grant from The Women’s Giving Alliance
We are thrilled to announce that Operation New Hope has received a generous grant of over $40,000 from The Women’s Giving Alliance, an initiative of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida. This grant was awarded during a member forum in May, where the WGA revealed that $750,000 would be distributed among 18 nonprofits in the […]
Voices of Hope – Chimekie J.
“After leaving a women’s residential facility, I went to Angel’s of Mercy transitional home in Sanford, Florida. A lot of the women living there have gone through the Ready4Work program at Operation New Hope and recommended I do the same. At first, I was worried it was going to be just like every other program, […]
Helping Fathers Become Better Dads While Incarcerated
This Second Chance Month, we are celebrating two groups of incarcerated fathers who are working hard to gain the necessary parenting skills needed to make the most of their second chances once released. Check out the most recent graduates of the InsideOut Dad’s classes that our team is delivering at Lake City Correctional and Lawtey […]
Voices of Hope Update – Aaron F.
In celebration of Operation New Hope’s 25th Anniversary and Second Chance Month (April), we reached out to some of our former clients to see how they are doing now. Years after returning home, they are still applying what they have learned during their time here at Operation New Hope to achieve success and build a […]
Second Chance Supporters Celebrating 25 Years
In celebration of Second Chance Month, Operation New Hope hosted an event to thank our great employment and community partners who have supported our mission and helped us achieve success over the past 25 years. The evening began with happy hour drinks and hors d’oeuvres followed by the presentation of Second Chance Supporter Awards to […]
Celebrating Women in Construction
Since 1998, Women in Construction Week has celebrated and promoted the role of women in the construction industry, and our friends at Turner Construction are celebrating by donating 30 pairs of new women’s work boots and hundreds of new safety vests to support our Ready4Work female clients entering the construction industry. Turner’s team stopped by […]
Top 25 Achievements of Past 25 Years
Here in Florida, there exists a beacon of hope that has been helping people rebuild their lives for a quarter of a century. Founded in March 1999, Operation New Hope celebrates our 25th anniversary this year, commemorating our legacy of transformative impact on the communities we serve. What began as a vision to uplift a […]
Ready4Work Graduates are on the RISE
Operation New Hope is excited to be partnering with the City of Orlando to ensure our Ready4Work graduates are on the RISE! Clients who successfully complete our Ready4Work Orlando Career Development program and take advantage of additional Career and Technical training can earn additional stipends to support their Second Chance journey to a new career and […]
Ready4Work Space Coast Ribbon Cutting
Florida has the 3rd largest incarcerated population in the U.S. and 95% of all state prisoners will be released. Brevard County has the 10th highest number of people returning from prisons here in the State of Florida. Therefore, there is a great need for reentry programs to help people rebuild their lives, become self-sufficient, keep […]
Orlando Showed Up to Race in Support of Hope
The Hope Starts Here 5k in Orlando was a great success! Participants and sponsors enjoyed a beautiful morning by Baldwin Lake while supporting efforts to reconnect people to the workforce, their families, and our communities after involvement with the criminal justice system. Thanks to everyone who came out to race in support of Second Chances […]
Ready4Work Orlando Celebrates First Year
To meet the critical needs of the thousands of people who return home to Central Florida every month from jail and prison, Operation New Hope opened a new program location in Orlando in September 2022 as part of our Statewide Reentry Network. After our first year of delivering our nationally-recognized Ready4Work reentry program and providing […]
Voices of Hope – Candace C.
“I’m a 38 year-old mother of 8 children who was never a heavy drug user until my husband and I separated after 22 years of marriage. I felt so scared and alone and threw myself into drugs and sex, but it didn’t get me anywhere except arrested for drug possession with intent to sell and […]
Education, Employment and Second Chances Matter!
Susan Kowalski, Operation New Hope’s Deputy Director of our READY4WORK Space Coast program location, attended the Florida Prison Education Project (FPEP) Open House last week at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Founded in 2017, FPEP is an initiative of the University of Central Florida that seeks to offer a high-quality undergraduate education to people […]
Ready4Release Team Making an Impact
Our Ready4Release team is making an impact in our communities and being recognized for their efforts! We are so proud to highlight two of their recent recognitions: Ronnie Cage our Ready4Release Program Manager was awarded Volunteer of the Month July 2023 by the Lawtey Correctional Institution. Ronnie has been facilitating the InsideOut Dads program to […]
