MERCEDES’ ROAD TO EMPLOYMENT

MERCEDES FACED MANY CHALLENGES after she was released from incarceration. She managed the stigma, the anxiety, and the difficulty of finding a job to support her children. Then she found the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), a Tulsa Area United Way partner nonprofit that gave her a job and a chance to rebuild her life.

The caring staff, many of whom had previously been in her situation, helped her gain skills and confidence to thrive in society.

“My life before incarceration was a vicious cycle,” Mercedes said. “The only thing I was consistent with was the lifestyle that led me to incarceration. When I got out, I was determined to break that cycle, but I was not prepared for how hard it would be to get a job.”

Frustrated, Mercedes googled ‘felon friendly jobs’ and came across the CEO website.

“I read the success stories of other people like me, and I thought: ‘This is me.’”

About a year into the program, Mercedes became not only a work crew supervisor, but she became the first female to oversee the first-of-its-kind all-female work crew. She also completed her first full year living in a home with her daughter.

Tulsa Area United Way’s partnership enables CEO to operate efficiently, placing hundreds of people like Mercedes into employment.

“When I had family members who wouldn’t loan me a piece of paper,” said Mercedes, “I had these strangers who were putting everything into me and my future.”