Pennsylvania Recovery Organizations Alliance (PRO-A) which is one of the first recovery organizations in the nation, founded in 1998. PRO-A is a 501(C)3 Non-profit organization. We received a 5-year Federal Grant to help individuals with substance use disorder that are in recovery find gainful employment. We cover 14 counties. Recovery Employment Coordinators (REC’s) meet with individuals to find out what they have done in the past as far as employment, where their interests are now and what strengths they have, along with who they are and what their story is. We create each participant a resume, help them with interview skills and encourage them to be honest about their backgrounds, if they have one. REC’s will help their participants send out their resumes to employers too, if needed.

The goal is to find employers that are willing to give people second chances. Most individuals that we work with do have a past, but that does not make them bad people. The participants need the opportunity to show that they are changing and are dependable, hard workers. Another one of our goals is to educate employers as to the benefits of hiring people in recovery and the programs that are out there for employers when hiring a second chance employee.

There are 2 programs that a lot of employers do not know about that are free and easy to access. One is the Federal Bonding Program that was created as an incentive for employers to hire “at-risk”, hard to place job seekers. Anyone who the employer considers to be an “At Risk” jobseeker – e.g., re-entrants, filed bankruptcy, recovery substance use individuals and dishonorably discharged from the military. There is no cost, no paperwork, no waiting – bond is issued immediately, no deductible and bond is good for 6 months at $5000 of coverage. Employer makes a phone call, answers a few questions and is covered!

The other program is the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) which is a Federal tax credit available to employers for hiring individuals from certain target groups who have consistently faced significant barriers to employment. Program highlights are savings for employers, no limit on the number of new hires and any size employer can benefit. There is a form that the new hire completes and employers/HR enter it into the system and are given a certification that they give to whomever does their taxes.

The benefits to hiring a participant in our program is that we are all Certified Recovery Specialists, which means that we are in long term recovery too. Our program is FREE, we get paid by the Grant. The biggest benefit to the employer is that we (REC’s) work with our participants for 6 months. We check in weekly asking how their recovery is and how their job is going, we meet with them if needed too. If the employer would like to stay connected with the participants REC, the REC can have the participant sign a release to do so.

If you are an employer interested in learning more about our program, our participants, or either of the programs that are out there for employers listed above, please contact Nikki Weir, nikki.w@pro-a.org. She is here to answer any questions or hear any comments and she looks forward to assisting you find your employees!