When you think about your company’s DEI efforts, are formerly incarcerated people in that equation? Probably not, right? Most companies shy away from hiring returning citizens for fear they can’t be trusted, will not deliver value, or won’t show up. And you would be wrong.
Today, Trent Griffin-Braaf shares his story, breaks apart negative stereotypes, and tells us about the many benefits of hiring such individuals. Trent explains how he saw transportation as a way to fight poverty and create more equity in employment, housing, and education in areas that need the most support.
We talk about the challenges faced by formerly incarcerated individuals in reintegrating into society and he shares the often overlooked impact of incarceration on mental health. But most importantly, Trent shares how your organization can support returning citizens in the workplace, what programs to put in place, and how to source this untapped, extremely loyal, talent pool, and why employing such individuals benefits your business and your community.
To access this episode transcript, please scroll down below.
Key Takeaways:
- Transportation opens up many opportunities and paths for individuals to gain further education, increase pay opportunities, gain medical access, and, in many other ways, help to reduce poverty.
- For mental health, you need to understand what you need to show up – everyone is different and will have a different recharge. There is strength in that.
- Every person should live their life like a business – with mission statements, values, and ethics.
“Organizations need to identify what’s the real risk with certain crimes, then eliminate certain crimes if needed. But for most organizations, there should be no reason why they can’t work with you.”
— Trent Griffin-Braaf
Episode References:
- Chron: Programs that help former felons find jobs
- Indeed: Programs to help justice-impacted individuals get jobs
- Workforce Development Institute
- Re-entry Works
- National Urban League
- Center for Employment Opportunities
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About Trent Griffin-Braaf, Founder & CEO, Tech Valley Shuttle
Trent Griffin-Braaf is the CEO and Founder of Tech Valley Shuttle. He has grown his business from a hotel-based transportation agency in 2016 to a fully customizable company specializing in workforce transportation. He now owns two of the larger Black-owned businesses in the Capital Region. Trent has been highlighted in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Forbes 1000, and the New York Times for his work. He was also recently named the 2023 SBA Upstate NY Small Business Person of the Year for expanding his ride services during the pandemic, filling a critical community need. Trent was formerly incarcerated, and since his release, he has dedicated his career to creating opportunities for others in the same position through Tech Valley Shuttle. His ultimate goal is to be a resource for others by shifting how organizations perceive and hire from underrepresented groups.
Connect with Trent Griffin-Braaf:
Website: techvalleyshuttle.com & trentgriffinbraaf.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/trentgb
Instagram: instagram.com/iamtrentgriffinbraaf
X: twitter.com/TechValeyShutle
Facebook: facebook.com/techvalleyshuttle
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FULL TRANSCRIPT BELOW:
Welcome to the empathy edge podcast, the show that proves why cashflow, creativity and compassion are not mutually exclusive. I’m your host Maria Ross. I’m a speaker, author, mom, facilitator and empathy advocate. And here you’ll meet trailblazing leaders and executives, authors and experts who embrace empathy to achieve radical success. We discuss all facets of empathy from trends and research to the future of work, to how to heal societal divisions and collaborate more effectively. Our goal is to redefine success and prove that empathy isn’t just good for society, it’s great for business. When you think about your company’s DEI efforts, where are formerly incarcerated people in that equation, probably not present, right. Most companies shy away from hiring what are sometimes called returning citizens for fear they can’t be trusted, won’t deliver value or won’t show up. And you would be wrong. Wrong Wrong. Today, my guest, Trent Griffin, brah, CEO and founder of tech Valley shuttle and a formerly incarcerated person himself, shares his amazing story and breaks apart negative stereotypes. telling us about the many benefits of hiring such individuals. Trent explains how he saw transportation as a way to fight poverty and create more equity and employment, housing and education in areas that need it the most. I was amazed to connect those dots in a way I never had before. Trent has grown his business from a hotel based transportation agency in 2016. To a fully customizable company specializing in workforce transportation. He now owns two of the larger black owned businesses in the capital region. Trent has been highlighted in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Forbes 1000, and the New York Times for his work. He was also recently named the 2023 SBA, upstate New York Small Business Person of the Year for expanding his ride services during the pandemic, filling a critical community need. Since his release, Trent has dedicated his career to creating opportunities for others in the same position through tech Valley shuttle. His ultimate goal is to be a resource for others by shifting how organizations perceive and hire from underrepresented groups. Today we talk about the challenges faced by formerly incarcerated individuals in reintegrating into society. And he shares the often overlooked impact of incarceration on mental health, including increased rates of depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse. But most importantly, trend shares how your organization and employees can support returning citizens in the workplace, what programs to put in place, and how to source this untapped and extremely loyal talent pool, leading to higher retention rates, performance and brand goodwill. And why employing such individuals, benefits your business and your community. Take a listen. Quick offer for you. Listen up all your marketers, business owners, entrepreneurs, all of you trying to connect and engage with an audience to grow your impact and revenue. I’m all about strengthening empathy to achieve radical success. And this all started for me in my wheelhouse of marketing. See, I realized the key to attracting and engaging the right customers is all about understanding them seeing things from their point of view. Empathy is a marketers superpower if it’s wielded responsibly. So after running two successful real time cohorts, I now opening up my brand story breakthrough course as an on demand offering. Take it when you want how you want for as long as you want five modules of videos and playbooks designed to help you articulate your goals. Understand your customers, define your different and land on your perfect brand story and marketing message. So you stand out and attract that perfect fit audience. Marketing is not about lying to people. It’s about empathy, elevating the truth of your story. And in this on demand course, you’ll learn the exact steps that my past brand clients have gone through to craft a clear and compelling and consistent brand message that guides everything you do. You’ll walk away with a brand story, strategy, ideal customer profiles, and even website and social media profile copy. Plus, with this on demand course, you get access to weekly Friday office hours with me. Yep, ask questions, get feedback, share new memes, discover new insights to help your business shine. It’s insanely cost effective and extremely valuable to your business and goals. So check out the details@bit.ly slash VSP course, that’s bi T dot L y slash V S v course, or click the link in the show notes. See you on the other side. Welcome Trent Griffin brah to the empathy edge podcast. I’ve been looking forward to this conversation with you. Thanks for coming on.
Trent Griffin-Braaf 06:03
No, thank you for having me. I’ve been looking forward to this as well.
Maria Ross 06:08
So you know, we just heard a little bit about your bio, you are amazing CEO and founder of tech Valley shuttle, basically, serial entrepreneur, and a formerly incarcerated person yourself. So tell us a little bit about your story and how you came to this work. Gotcha.
Trent Griffin-Braaf 06:25
So I’ll give you the footnotes of my story. And so essentially, I’m someone who, you know, I was born in New York City, the Bronx, parents were separated. So I split time between the Bronx and Harlem. At a young age, my father passed away. So around nine years old, I moved upstate New York to Albany. But essentially, I grew up in a single parent household, there was a lot of there was the abuse in the household, there was drug addiction in the household. And so a lot of barriers that a lot of people who come from similar neighborhoods and backgrounds experienced following High School, which I barely pass, the only reason I probably pass because I play basketball, we got a really good team. And so I can’t really tell, but I’m pretty high. I’m gonna shoot her on the totem pole. And so I realized quickly, I wasn’t going to the NBA. And but after high school, I ended up going to college for one year didn’t take education too serious. Like I said, it was all about basketball for me and networking about the wrong networking. And so after I failed out of college, I first semester, I ended up coming back home. And that’s kind of where my journey and my story begins, in terms of me starting to run with the role of crowds and more than anything, making bad decisions for myself. And so that looked like me starting to sell drugs, I did it for maybe a year and some change. And then here I am in front of a judge being sentenced to 12 years in prison, and never had a speeding ticket before never had really any issues with the law at all. And I ended up getting a 12 year sentence of that 12 year sentence, I ended up doing about three and a half years in prison, another three years on parole probation. And so I gave him about six, seven years of my life in that capacity. While I was incarcerated I was I was fortunate enough to take college that Maris college, that was the first time I had a light bulb moment that you know, if I applied myself in school, I guess I was I am smart, like the teachers would say, and so and being the top of the class for those incarcerated or those who were actually at Maris that was like, Okay, I could do this. And so from that moment on, I’ve always had the yearning to learn more and, and I made a commitment to myself to become a forever learner. During that journey of becoming a forever learner. Naturally, I was released from prison looking to better my life. And it was hard. It was tough struggle with housing at the time, my girlfriend at the time wife today, she lived in housing upon my release, I wasn’t even able to go there. Because I had a felony on my record. I wanted to go back to school once I was released, but I couldn’t tap into any of the financials because I had a felony on my record. And so ultimately, what that looked like was be just finding a temp job. Uh huh. That was, that was the that’s what I ended up doing for probably about a good year following release. And then essentially, one day I get a break it my huge break came in the form of cleaning toilets for a Marriott part time. And I took that at my new opportunity. And ultimately, I worked my way up to becoming a general manager and in the hotel world, dealt a lot of systems and how to use computers and you know, utilize a new system to train others. And so what that looked like was, what that look like was, as I grew up the corporate ladder once I became a general manager in my market, they were opening a casino rivers Casino. And so I used my network at that point, I had sat on the hospitality board people in the hotel world knew me So we all talked about how bad the transportation was. This is before we were left rideshare. Yeah, it so it was just the taxis. And the one thing we all came in agreement was, I could do it any worse than it was already happening.
Maria Ross 10:15
It could only go up, right? It only go up
Trent Griffin-Braaf 10:17
from here, guys. And so though I had six hotels, six or nine hotels, I think it was six that said they would agree if I started a service to use us. I was thinking, all right, well, I’ll create tech Valley shuttle hospitality shuttle. And the goal was to just work with hotels in our in our area, because that was really the only industry I knew. But I knew from a young age, I was a natural hustler. And so I wanted to do something for myself. And I was able to look at year over year p&l reports for the hotel, and I’m like, I’m helping make other families millions. When I went to jail, she said pennies. And now I have some tangible skills, there’s an actual need for this. And if I do this, right, maybe I could do the same for being my family. And so I think it was, it was December 15 2016, I formed tech Valley hospitality shuttle LLC. And from there, you know, got into the hotel world. And we ended up working with 4050 Hotels within the first year, two years. But during that same time, I wanted to learn my craft, just like I learned the hotel industry, it was tough for me to learn transportation. And so even to this day, I still take 15 minutes a day to just read about transportation, let it be vehicle airplanes, anything. And but in doing so I also started to sit on transportation boards and committees locally. And we got an annual report. And I remember this had to be probably 2018, I got the first annual report for the capital region. And that was the first time in my life that I identified that poverty and transportation went hand in hand. And so from 2018, and it started to become on my radar workforce transport workforce needed transportation, people struggled, there was there’s transportation, desert deserts, there were food deserts. And, you know, I started to see how this work that I started to do more of your research. And, you know, we’re all we’re all really familiar with what redlining is, but one thing people never really think about is how public transportation supported redlining, it was a whole system that was built here. So I started to put set my intention to oh, well, what can we do in that kind of space that would benefit the community. And so that’s where we really started to dive into. And so around 2080, maybe even 2019, our mission changed, and our mission became to combat poverty to transportation solutions. And that’s literally what we do today. Oh, we were able to survive to COVID, I started another logistic company. During that time, I got a contract with Amazon. And then but on the tech Valley side of thing, we really started to focus on services that reduce recidivism. Now we do services that three times a year we do free community prison shuttles, because with each visit someone incarcerated receives it reduces the rate of return to jail by 12%, we started to do services that help individuals who live in food deserts, in which either we would bring food to those areas, or we would actually transport individuals to and from, we also do services that for non emergency medical transportation, and we’re currently in a pilot program, showing up hopefully, Medicaid, why they need to expand the services outside of just doctor’s appointments. But we’re getting people to work, to gyms, mass, you know, AAA meetings, all sorts of things that you know, help people holistically instead of just going to one from a doctor. And then we also do services that address the school to prison pipeline. And so we get youth from the inner cities, and we bring them to charter schools that tend to have higher graduation rates, we also do a lot of college tours, exposing them to more than just their their few block radius. And then our catalyst program is what we call driven to work. We ultimately work with employers, and we help them get associates to and from work. And oftentimes, many of these associates are formerly incarcerated individuals or individuals who just lack transportation, but they’re looking for higher earning jobs. And we’re able to support and help them get to those higher earning jobs. And so so our our heart lies into in the community. And that’s some of the work that we’re doing at Tech Valley shuttle on the transportation side,
Maria Ross 14:15
I love Oh, my gosh, your story is amazing. And I just have, I have so much empathy, even though I’ve never been through those experiences of what you’re talking about, and the way that you’ve pointed out so many of these hidden issues in getting out of poverty and getting out of like, a less than ideal situation. How you’ve actually tracked it back to transportation is just genius, because I don’t think we ever look at that as a solution to those big macro problems. And I love when I have guests like you on the show that are working on this one very specific thing and yet exponentially the impact of that, on solving those prices. problems is not what you would think it would be correct. And so, you know, you’ve chosen to, to find a way through transportation, getting people from point A to point B and what that means for people’s opportunities and for their income potential for their ability to, you know, stay out of crime, for their ability to get education like it. I love when people are able to find that little tangential nugget that no one’s thinking about when they think about those problems. They’re thinking, you know, for example, like educational access, they’re thinking about scholarships, they’re thinking about, you know, going into high school, they’re thinking about, they’re thinking, very tunnel vision about the issue. And it’s like, But wait, there’s all these other like snags in the process, these hoops that people have to jump through, and you’re choosing to deal with that problem and help solve that problem and make the community better through this one very specific, very concrete thing that you can do. And I just, I’m kind of fan girling you right now, because I, I love it. I love that you just you when people find that little magic thing that nobody else is looking at, because I as you’re talking, and I’m sure as folks listening to the podcast, they’re thinking, Well, I never realized that’s a problem. And that’s a problem. And that’s a problem. And it all has to do with transportation,
Trent Griffin-Braaf 16:22
transportation. That’s right. Yeah, that’s true. So true. So true.
Maria Ross 16:25
So I love the story about how you, you got to where you are now. And I also just want to highlight this, this thing you mentioned about your light bulb moment. And this idea that access to college, when you’re incarcerated and access to learning is part of rehabilitation, but not even rehabilitation, just opportunity development, like what good does it do to, quote unquote, punish people for crimes, and not help them better themselves, and the fact that you had this lightbulb moment of, you know, people, people, there’s people that complain about providing college education to incarcerated people, they don’t deserve it, yada, yada, yada. So what’s the alternative? Do you want people to lead better lives and be contributing members to society? Or don’t you? Right? So I knew that, right. And you explain, you know, you’ve talked about, we’ve talked about formerly incarcerated individuals, sometimes they’re referred to as you’ve educated me as returning citizens. You talked a little bit about the barriers they face and the challenges that they face reintegrating into society. But I know that you talk about particularly around mental health and well being you kind of touched on this, can you illuminate us on on those issues and how they impact all of us, not just the incarcerated individual?
Trent Griffin-Braaf 17:46
Well, I think and I’m really happy that we’re in a place now where people are discussing mental health. You know, I know growing up, it was something that you never even talked about, like it was just, you just, you didn’t even talk about it. Like honestly, it wasn’t even at that, oh, it was shameful. Correct? Correct. Correct. I agree. And so now that we all are in an enlightened space, where we understand the importance of having a clear mind, you know, I’m just happy and so but for people who’ve been incarcerated, like if you really think about the trauma that go with that, like you literally, at some point, you were locked behind a gate that you could not get out. And then even when you were released from that gate, you were still locked inside of facility that you could not get out of. I could even leave it on me my first daughter, she was birth while I was incarcerated. And so you know, the first time I held my daughter was at on a visiting floor at a county jail. And you know, the trauma of when the visit was over, after the 30 minutes or hour, whatever it made, it might have been, I had to then hand my daughter off, and I couldn’t see her again until the next visit, or the next time and then so, like traumas like that, or I lost my grandmother while I was incarcerated, I had to go to her funeral. Shane did Jack shackled. And I remember even the CEO said, like, don’t try anything funny, because there’ll be two funerals today. So you know, right, you know, and so, that kind of trauma. Then I remember the first day I was incarcerated, and I was in the prison and walking through the tunnels and the chief, he gave a speech and he told me, he thanked all of us for coming. He said, You know, we’ve helped put his children through college and he knows that the majority of us will be back again for another visit, and he just wants to welcome us back. And so Wow, these are like real things that I’ve seen just through that experience that I know there’s a lot worse there’s people who were put in a cage for 24 hour 23 One where they never get out of there. So except for one hour of rec time inside of another cell. It’s so there’s just so many traumas that comes from that experience. And then if you probably tack on the fact that these same individuals have a The traumas just like all of us in life coming up, there’s just traumas we have, keep it back on myself, you know, I lost my father at a young age trauma. Parents battled addiction issues, trauma, you know, I seen abuse take place in their in their household trauma. So these are additional charges that you’re stacking on these other traumas. And so if you never figure out how to keep your mental, right, I see so many people, I have close friends who have been incarcerated, dealt with those traumas came home and die. And I know it was it was trauma based I know it was just from the experiences they’ve had. And so or I believe that my heart and so so to be at a space now we’re talking about mental health. And like for me, I’ve learned that for me, for my mental health, I need it to recharge, I operate multiple businesses, I’m responsible for a lot of people a lot of things. And so there’s just certain things standards that I’ve put in my life, like, you know, after five o’clock, I’ll give my old from five in the morning to five at night. I’m here for everybody, my team, I’ll give my all. But after five, I need to be able to detach, it’d be able to also be a Father and to be a son and to be a brother and to be a husband. And so you know, I’ve learned that through my life. And so that’s part of my recharge. So don’t contact me after five unless it’s something serious, because that’s the only way I could show up again tomorrow. I know I need to be outdoors. I’m a nature person. So I need to be able to sit outside and at least one day a week, just be able to sit outside for a couple hours to get my thoughts together. All right, I’ve learned the value of meditation, something that also going to help along with mental health. I remember growing up and the people who meditate are like weirdos. And so you know, but now we know that you know that there’s strength in that. And so yeah, for me, it’s all about mental health. And I tell people all the time, I couldn’t show up and be the person I was if my mental first with it, right. And I believe because I’ve learned what works for me. I always encourage others, you got to learn what works for you. Because we’re all different. We’re all made different. But you need to figure out what your recharges and, you know, an analogy I usually give is, we all have what it is. So where and we know how to charge these right? Yeah. But at the same time, do you know what charges you like? What do you need to charge yourself? And I think especially for returning citizens, that’s a very, very important lesson, because you can’t show up and give your best if your mental isn’t right. And you have to be able to get past some of the traumas, or Oh, still repeat themselves in your lives. And so but the only way you could do that is they were clear by and
Maria Ross 22:26
well, you know, people talk about people in prison. And they they think, oh, that we don’t want to coddle them because they need to be punished for what they’ve done. And you know, they would lose their minds if you brought in yoga and meditation to prisons, when maybe they don’t have access to it on the outside. But again, if the goal is to rehabilitate, and to help someone make different choices and be a productive member of society, again, it’s costing us more not providing those types of services to formerly incarcerated people or people while they’re being incarcerated. It’s not a luxury. It’s a necessity. It’s
Trent Griffin-Braaf 23:05
kind of silly when people say that, like, you know, like, some would live in the Bay Area somewhere, you know, relax it all day. Yeah, reality is nothing like that. It’s a lot of hardship. It’s a lot of stuff that you never hear about, even the stories that I disclosed about my experiences. wouldn’t hear that unless you do someone who’s been there who could share that. And although what it’s not, it wasn’t me beat up by anybody while I was there, I was mentally beat up while I was there. And you know, but I’ve been able to identify and decompress from that and figure out, you know, understanding, no, that’s not right. That’s not how it’s supposed to be right. But how do I get past that? And, you know, I think it’s important that we all figure out how to get past that who’s been there. So we can then share our troops as well as continue to grow and develop.
Maria Ross 23:51
So let’s talk about for the leaders listening for folks in, you know, the C suite or HR, let’s talk about businesses. And you know, again, the places with the jobs for people. And you mentioned earlier, when you’re sharing your story, how hard it is to get financing, how hard it is to get housing, how hard it is to get employment, when you’ve got this on your record, even though you have paid your debt to society. It’s still it’s still a prison. Right? So what can businesses do to have empathy and support returning citizens? And what can that do for their business to be able to, to open the pipeline of talent, to be able to, you know, to be okay with trusting those individuals to come work for them? What kinds of things can they put in place? You’ve built a business and I, I would assume you are supporting formerly incarcerated people as well, of course, but what can other businesses do that are like, Oh, I don’t know. Like, how do we, you know, as part of the background check, we check if they’ve had a felony or we check if they’ve been in jail. So what do you say to that?
Trent Griffin-Braaf 24:55
So I say a couple of things first, if you allow me one sec, I want to So a little bit of information that is relevant for other leaders. I am the SBA Small Business Person of the Year for New York State upstate for 2023. I’ve been awarded a leader a diversity, equity inclusion for a hired habits and our development of individuals within our org. I have the first business upstate New York to ever be named one of the best places to work by an African American. Amen. Even I always like to jokingly say by openly known felon, I’ve been featured in Forbes I have been featured in Sherm, I’ve been, I’ve spoken for 1200 representatives across the nation for United States Department of Labor’s et cetera, et cetera, and Bloomberg, etc, etc. So I share all of that, just to say that I’m not just speaking it, I’m living it. And I’ve been able to been stamped by a lot of verified sources, who know the work that we’re putting in is legit and real. So my advice now is I work with a lot of organizations on how they could build cultures that are supportive of returning citizen. And there’s a lot of things that organizations could do to build this culture. And I think any leader who’s listening knows one thing for certain someone who has more resources and more access to capital can recreate your business, the one thing that they could never recreate is your culture. And so your culture has to be sacred, and you have to guard it, and so on. So we teach other organizations that what we’ve done at Tech Valley chateaux is we’ve created this roadmap to success program. And ultimately, we help individuals become the CEOs of their lives, and teach them how to operate their lives, like a successful CEO operates their business. And so one, some things that I clearly identified are, there’s a detachment a lot of individuals who have been from underserved populations in general, they don’t understand or even know that every business has a mission statement has a mission and what they do, every business has values, and it has core values. Every business has an organizational chart, and that chart changes and moves. And so what we do is we show individuals that we work with, we help them identify what’s your mission in life? What’s your mission statement? What’s your values? What are the values you live by, are what are values you will not, you know, ever cross again, because if not having these values and not having these missions are what got us in prison in the first place. And so we help skill people up in that regard, and then make the connection to organizations that we’re working with, that are now built into culture. And so as as organizations can do, some of the things they could do is they could remove the terminology, have you ever been convicted of a felon before from application, they should honestly check the boxes about to go away? Anyway. So get ahead of that and just remove that, from your question altogether shouldn’t even be relevant. I think organizations need to identify, there are certain crimes that you wouldn’t allow in your organization. In, for instance, you know, maybe a sex offender, and I’ll keep it on us. We do services around with that include youth in schools. So naturally, that’s something that we just can’t do, because of the line of business where it just like I would imagine a bank wouldn’t want someone who’s committed fraud or embezzlement, correct? It’s so I think organizations need to really identify what’s the real risk associated with certain crimes, and then eliminate certain certain crimes altogether, that’s fine. But then everyone else, there should be no question, there should be no reason why they can’t work with you. Additionally, I think that organizations need to find or develop someone on their team who could be the champion of, of this population, returning citizens. And so I always suggest that organizations create employment resource groups in in those groups don’t let it be led by someone who’s actually walking the walk, who’s been there, but who’s actually also a high performer in your organization, that individual now can become a mentor as someone that other people in the organization could see themselves in and understand that there’s opportunities for growth. Well,
Maria Ross 29:09
and also they become a model for other people in the organization to see that this it’s not scary. This is this person is delivering and operating just like you, they’re just like you and me, agree are just trying to do their best work. So they you know, that whole thing about proximity creates empathy. When you actually know someone in certain situations or in certain groups, you have a different relationship to that group.
Trent Griffin-Braaf 29:35
I agree wholeheartedly, I agree. And they become a they become a messenger, but a message adjusted messenger in that regard. And they also helped remove the biases and the stigmas around that. So I agree wholeheartedly. But I think some of the things that organizations can do is one be mindful of what you’re looking to do. I hear all the time. I don’t know how to find people or I don’t know how to pick The good ones is what I had a couple of CEOs tell me yeah, that I mentioned it, that’s kind of crazy to say one, because there’s never any group of people that, you know, there’s just a particular good one.
Maria Ross 30:12
There’s lots of people that haven’t been in jail that I never want to work with. Again, it’s rare.
Trent Griffin-Braaf 30:17
It’s, it’s so you know, I think is being mindful. But also just understanding that, make it make it a goal, we want a goal of doing this and then work towards that goal. I also think that organizations need, they should look into what’s out there. There’s all sorts of resources like free bond and programs by the Feds tax incentives by the Fed. And these are real things that are become tangible, where you could protect your organization, you can actually make up to $9,000 per associate, and it’s only like within the first 60 days that they have to stay with you. All right, so there’s some real incentives out there for sale. So,
Maria Ross 30:56
you know, you talk a lot about promoting education and vocational training programs that empower formerly incarcerated individuals, what are some of those so that people listening can tap into that for talent pipelines? Maybe like, again, I don’t know where to go, what are some of the names of those, and we’ll put those links in the show notes if you mentioned any.
Trent Griffin-Braaf 31:15
Um, so some of the names, so what I can say, where we’re at, we use a lot of resources, like, Uh, excuse me, a lot of a lot of free resources. So where we are, there’s programs that help individuals with like, Excel, Microsoft, we’re teaching people how to utilize emails, things of that nature. So there’s members of our team that we work with, and we send over there as complimentary. We also do a lot of work with a W di Workforce Development Institute, in which, you know, they provide grants and other federal program, they provide grants, and that to scale up your workforce as, as well as to create more employment. And so there’s money on the table to really help skill your people. And Maria, that was a great question, because I think that’s one of the keys to being successful, is really having a really good led learning and development program for for individuals. And also understanding that everyone comes from a different educational background and learning. And if you really start to dive into numbers, a lot of people who are returning citizen, got their GED while they were incarcerated or barely graduated high school like myself. And so understanding those things mean, you need to put a little bit more time and effort into this population. Right on the flip side, which you will see is some of the most loyal individuals, right. And I can leave it on the I, even on myself, when I first got my job into Mariya, I didn’t want to leave because as humans, we don’t like to hear no. And the stigma that is in our minds are as soon as so we’ll see the felony on our record, they’re not going to give us the job, right, we’re going to be rejected. Yeah, correct. And no one likes that feeling. No one wants to be rejected. And so oftentimes, you’ll find the individual will stay with the organization and have that loyalty just because they were given a shot. Right. Yeah. You know, and so I do a lot of stuff. And it was a research article I read that said, there was this organization who their retention rates were like 30%, they started to really be mindful of hiring returning citizens, but put together a really strong led plan and how they can support them in work and outside of work way. And they said, since then, their numbers have shrunk down to below 10% When they’re when they’re on their retention rates.
Maria Ross 33:30
So I can imagine that some recruiters listening might be wondering, like, where do we find people? If we do want to open up that pipeline for them? What are some organizations that are helping with placement for formerly incarcerated individuals?
Trent Griffin-Braaf 33:44
Well, on a national level, I know a CEO is one center for economic opportunities. I know there’s the National Urban League, and then another agency recruiting agency that I know specifically is reentry works. And those are all national organizations that, you know, your listeners should be able to find in their own backyards. And we’ll
Maria Ross 34:09
put some links in the show notes as well. We’ll post a few more in the links as well for people because I think that’s, again, that’s always the question is like, we want to hire different populations. We just don’t know where to find them, because they’re not necessarily in our networks. Correct. So where do we tap into those folks? And I would like to ask you one last question, which is in terms of what companies can do it, you talked earlier a lot about the importance of mental health support. Yeah. So how does that link for what companies can do to provide for their employees whether they’re formerly incarcerated individuals or not? Rather some of the what are some of the programs you’ve seen that have worked really well? So
Trent Griffin-Braaf 34:48
around the mid to a health programming? I honestly, I found some like local agencies Trinity Alliance, they do some programming commune Any father’s. So there’s a lot of nonprofits that do a lot of mental health around helping individuals, especially formerly incarcerated individuals. And so that’s something I would, I would tell all listeners really do some homework in your own backyard or around nonprofits. And it’s usually not the big, big name nonprofits, right, although they have programs. But a lot of the smaller nonprofits who are boots on the ground on these issues, that’s where you usually find some really good programming around how to support your mental health in his space. And then, but I think for us, and like tech Valley, we’ve become very mindful of that. And so even down to the terminology we use, like, here, we understand like, we won’t say that we’re given someone a write up, because we understand that it’s someone who’s been formally incarcerated, when someone says right up, typically means that they’re jeopardizing their freedom, because you get a ride out, which means now you could be in jail for a longer amount of time. And so, here we use terminology like coaching, because that’s really what we’re doing. We’re not trying to set you up for to lose your job. We’re not trying to say you’re a terrible human. But what we’re trying to say is, hey, this is what works here, this is what we need you to do here. And it’s just a coaching, you know, just like a coach would at a football game, hey, this is what’s going on, get your head in the game. This is what we need you to do now go do it. And, and so you know, we’re very mindful of even just down to the legal. And so I just think that employers, especially to your point, where do they find them? Right? I think any employer who the first question is, where do I find this population really should take a look at their organization, and say, even if I can find this person is my organization in the space where we can really retain and help develop this?
Maria Ross 36:43
Right? It’s all it’s the same with Dei, it’s one thing to check the box and bring in all those people. It’s another thing to create inclusion, yes, in the organization and keep them. That’s
Trent Griffin-Braaf 36:54
100%. And so I think that’s where I like to encourage other leaders, Hey, first, let’s start internally, what are things we can do that will help support this population? And then let’s go after the population once we started to build that out, because now there’s a higher likelihood that this population will be successful in our workspace. And so I definitely encourage employers to do that. And again, some of the resources I mentioned, they have some, some programming in place that organizations could dive into, I’m actually doing some web series like around how do you work with parole and probation? How do you remove into stigmas and bias around hiring ex offenders? How do you build a culture that that is welcoming for ex offenders and for returning citizens. So I’m putting together some some of my own web series that employers would actually be able to send their their team through, none of them will be any longer than 45 minutes at a time. So they can actually take it, process it and they’ll all have action items, steps that every single organization could start to do immediately after going through the web series.
Maria Ross 38:02
I love that. And will you anyone that goes by that? Yeah, we’ll put and we’ll put a link to that when we put a link to you. I wasn’t gonna say it,
Trent Griffin-Braaf 38:10
anyone could find that. You love it. I love it.
Maria Ross 38:13
And so Trent, as we wrap up, what’s one last thing you want employers to know about? Hiring and coaching formerly incarcerated individuals, what sort of a last little gem you can leave us with?
Trent Griffin-Braaf 38:27
The last gem I can leave you with is organizations that do do well, in this space. And in terms of creating or creating a workplace environment, a culture that is supportive under representative population, underserved population, tend to have lower retention rates, they have access to all sorts of tax benefits that are out there that can help them be successful. Any organization that is mission driven, and has a positive mission, that usually also helps with their bottom line, because people will rally around and support and most importantly, then all of that, you’re able to really help develop and change your own community. And because with each person that you bring on, and provide opportunity, and help scale them up and help them ascend up the ladder, you have individuals who are going to be put back into their communities in taxes, you will have first time homeowners, you really do all be doing all the things that supports and builds up your area and your community. And it’s as simple as just hiring someone who you normally would and are finding these underserved populations in helping develop them. And so my that’s really the jewel that I would give, I would also say, you know, take a little bit of time to maybe get to know someone that you know, who, who, who’s been formerly incarcerated, and that that’s as easy as joining a board that might be in that space and in starting to talk to individuals. But as we spoke about at the beginning, the importance of empathy, and I believe that, like you said, You know, one of the best ways you can empathize with someone is getting to know them, and getting to understand where they’re coming from. And I think that’s one of the barriers to entry, get to know someone that, you know, comes from one of these underserved populations, start to humanize them. And then also start to understand some of the issues and the things that their traumas so that way, when you have the opportunity to have a member on your team, you’ll be more
Maria Ross 40:22
empathetic. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much. There’s so many great insights. Thank you so much for coming on sharing your story and for the work that you do and the great advice and resources you’ve provided. We’re gonna have all the links in the show notes. But real quickly, where can folks best connect with you and find out more about your work? So
Trent Griffin-Braaf 40:40
I try to make it easy. You could find me everywhere with my name Trent Griffin broth. That’s the website sugar for broth.com That’s my Instagram, my Facebook, my LinkedIn pages, they’re all Trent Griffin broth. Yet how to make it easy for everyone.
Maria Ross 40:56
Thank you so much for coming on the show. I appreciate it.
Trent Griffin-Braaf 40:59
Thank you for having me. I love what you’re doing. And you know, like I said, let’s all just continue to be empathetic and make a much better world. Amen.
Maria Ross 41:06
And thank you everyone for listening to another episode of the empathy edge podcast. If you like what you heard you know what to do, please rate review, share it with a friend or a colleague. And until next time, remember that cash flow creativity and compassion are not mutually exclusive. Take care and be kind. For more on how to achieve radical success through empathy, visit the empathy edge.com. There you can listen to past episodes, access shownotes and free resources. Book me for a Keynote or workshop and sign up for our email list to get new episodes, insights, news and events. Please follow me on Instagram at Red slice Maria. Never forget empathy is your superpower. Use it to make your work and the world a better place.
