U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL) announced today a $1 million grant for the Tampa Bay Academy of Hope. The grant will fund the Academy’s NOW (No Offender Without a Second Chance) initiative that offers support services, training and skills development to help participants ages 16-24 obtain employment.

“Helping all Tampa Bay neighbors obtain gainful employment will only improve our local economy and reduce the type of recidivism associated with unemployment among juveniles with a record,” Rep. Castor said. 

The Tampa Bay Academy of Hope is the only organization in Florida to receive one of the 28 grants awarded throughout the country, and received the highest amount allotted for each grant. The Academy is located at 4319 E. Seventh Ave. in Tampa.

The Tampa Bay Academy of Hope’s NOW program provides an array of services for an area of selected communities in Hillsborough County where the crime index rate as high as 12,018 is three times the state’s index rate, and where nearly 2,700 ex-offenders are released annually – the highest in the state. The recidivism rate in the area is as high as 39 percent, which is higher than the state average of 30 percent and Tampa’s 26 percent. The Academy’s NOW program provides education and vocational training to prepare participants for entry and advancement in jobs within high-demand industries, including construction, information and technology, health services, and truck driving. Through long-term employment outcomes, the NOW program aims to significantly reduce recidivism for the communities it serves. 

The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Labor’s “Face Forward,” designed to give youth a second chance at employment success by offering the services they need to overcome the stigma of a juvenile record.

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