Leigh Ann Bohrer had been "with her head held down in shame, full of drugs and no hope" when she signed up for Operation New Hope.
"The best decision I ever made," she said at a recent graduation ceremony for the Florida nonprofit's Ready4Work program, which helps ex-offenders find work and stay in the community, the Florida Times-Union reports.
Bohrer said she had been "a woman...
with her head held down in shame, full of drugs and no hope" when she signed up for the program.
Now, she said, she has "a whole team of people who cared about me.
The best decision I ever made."
Operation New Hope recently received a $250,000 grant from the UPS Foundation to expand the vocational training opportunities for its Ready4Work clients and to develop a community leadership program, a spokeswoman said.
The Jacksonville nonprofit provides job training, job placement assistance, case management, and mental health and other support services so ex-offenders can join the workforce.
Also, Operation New Hope is working with the University of North Florida's Taylor School of Leadership on a pilot program to build leadership skills for clients and community members identified as emerging leaders, according to spokeswoman Amanda Mahan.
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