The Safer Foundation’s Employment Services program office has a new home at 2235 Third Ave., Rock Island.
An open house celebration will be held from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11. The event is free and open to all community partners and peers. The event will include networking opportunities, and remarks from Safer Foundation leadership and Employment Services stakeholders who have contributed to Safer’s continued growth and success in the Quad Cities.
Open house guests can enjoy light refreshments as they have the opportunity to meet with Safer Foundation staff and leadership.
According to Safer, Employment Services had to find a new home due to the former location – the Bridgepointe/Kone Elevator building in Moline – being purchased by the city. Located at the foot of the Interstate 74 bridge, the building will come down eventually for riverfront development.
All Safer Foundation’s other area offices will remain open.
The new Employment Service’s office enhances accessibility for program participants, peer organizations and community partners, ensuring that more individuals can conveniently connect with the resources and support they need to succeed.
“We are honored to celebrate this move with our colleagues, partners, and participants, whose trust and collaboration have sustained this cornerstone program for 49 years,” said Erica Lee, associate vice president, Regional Operations, Quad Cities, for the Safer Foundation. “This new location not only represents an investment in our future, but also in the relationships that are central to our mission of removing barriers to success for individuals with records.”
Employment Services, a Safer Quad Cities’ cornerstone program since 1976, provides individual intake, employment counseling, employer referrals, job placement and supportive follow-up to formerly incarcerated individuals and those with arrest or conviction records in Rock Island County. Assessment and job coach sessions are conducted with 150 to 200 individuals annually.
Employment Services is one of three Safer Foundation programs currently operating in the Quad Cities. Safer’s Youth Empowerment Program (YEP) is a life skills program serving 16 – 19-year-olds who have become disengaged from traditional schooling. Pathway Home is a Department of Labor-funded program serving individuals pre-release, 18 years old and up, in Scott County.
Safer Foundation is one of the nation’s leading nonprofits dedicated to disrupting cycles of
recidivism and social injustice. For more than 50 years, Safer has helped people with arrest and conviction records secure employment, rebuild their lives, and strengthen their families. Each year, Safer serves more than 5,000 people, including 400 to 500 individuals in the Quad Cities region.
