From Start to Finish: Hope Starts Here 5K Inspires Change
On Saturday, September 27, 2025, nearly 200 Orlando community members came together at Harbor Park in Lake Baldwin for the Third Annual Hope Starts Here 5K Orlando, raising awareness, funds, and support for second chances. Benefiting Operation New Hope, Florida’s Statewide Reentry Network, the event united participants of all ages and experience levels to run, […]
Operation New Hope Space Coast Has a New Home
Operation New Hope, Florida’s Statewide Reentry Network, is excited to announce that our Ready4Work Program Location in Space Coast has moved into a new office! Previously, due to client capacity, our team served participants across two adjacent buildings. As of Monday, September 15, 2025, we are now fully open and operating under one roof at […]
Operation New Hope Celebrates One Year of Impact in Tampa Bay
This month marks one full year since Operation New Hope opened its doors in St. Petersburg and Tampa, and what a year it has been. Since launching services in the Tampa Bay region in July 2024, we’ve had the privilege of supporting hundreds of individuals as they reenter their communities after incarceration. With the help […]
Jet HomeLoans Donates Over 50 Laptops to Expand Digital Access for Returning Citizens
On Thursday, May 22, 2025, Operation New Hope had the privilege of welcoming the Jet HomeLoans team to our Jacksonville office for a visit that will have a lasting impact across the state of Florida. They arrived with an incredibly generous donation of 51 laptops to support digital access and technology training for clients navigating […]
Press Release: Operation New Hope Announces Addition of Two New Board Members
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 20, 2023 Operation New Hope Announces Addition of Two New Board Members Jacksonville, Florida – Operation New Hope announces the addition of two new board members who will help guide the nonprofit’s mission to provide training and support to people impacted by the justice system to reconnect them to the workforce […]
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 […]
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 […]
Congressman Rutherford Thanks Community for Support of Second Chances
Congressman Rutherford and Susan King of Feeding Northeast Florida Rev. Beth Tjoflat of St. Mary’s and Crystal Chisholm Members from nonprofit and faith communities gathered for Community Breakfast Operation New Hope’s Reggie Fullwood thanking Congressman Rutherford for being a Second Chance Supporter Congressman John Rutherford returned home to Jacksonville to speak on the importance of […]
Voices of Hope – David P.
“I’m originally from Bradenton, Florida and started using drugs because it was the only escape route I knew. If I couldn’t get it, I’d find a way to take it. The day I went to jail, I lost everything. I hurt the person I cared about the most and that hurt me. It broke my […]
Voices of Hope – Asia V.
“Before Operation New Hope, I was drug addicted, living on the streets, in an abusive relationship, and involved in human trafficking. My environment and the risks I was taking were very dangerous. I heard about the Ready4Work program when I was in jail in 2019, and it sounded like a great starting point from which […]
Expanding Reentry Services to the Space Coast
Operation New Hope is excited to announce that we are opening our newest program location – READY4WORK Space Coast – in August 2023. After our successful expansion to Orlando last year, Operation New Hope received a significant increase in State funding to support our continued efforts to build a Statewide Reentry Network with goal of helping the […]
Kaley Vontz Promoted to Community Engagement Manager
Operation New Hope is pleased to announce that Kaley Vontz has been promoted to Community Engagement Manager. In this new role, Kaley will be responsible for increasing awareness of our mission and cultivating relationships to encourage support, partnerships, and engagement. Kaley is a Jacksonville native who grew up at the beach and graduated from Episcopal […]
CFO James Lee Completes Jim Moran Nonprofit Executive Program
Operation New Hope’s Chief Financial Officer James Lee recently completed the Jim Moran Institute For Global Entrepreneurship Nonprofit Executive Program. Focused on growth, leadership expertise, and financial success, the Nonprofit Executive Program examines business fundamentals, strategies, and best practices. The mission of the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship is to cultivate, train and inspire […]
Florida Capital Bank Donates Welcome Home Hygiene Kits
Every week at Operation New Hope, we welcome people back from jail or prison with nothing more than the shirts on their backs. That’s why we are so thankful to our good friends at Florida Capital Bank for their generous donation of hygiene products that will help welcome our clients back to the community. These […]