Grants for Parolees – People on parolees often need some form of financial assistance for various reasons. We understand how hard it is to remove the negative stigma that people have towards ex-felons. What’s more, people on parole should be on their best behavior to be able to successfully re-enter society. But how can they do that when they often have a hard time getting a job? Living without a job will lead these people to poverty.
Fortunately, there are several programs available from the government to help these people on parole to stand on their own feet. Today we’re going to talk about the three possible sources of grants for you.
Some of you may be searching for a grant to start a small business because it is hard to get employment, especially because many people think badly of people who’ve gone to jail. Unfortunately, there are no current business grants available aimed at ex-felons. As far as we know, the government does encourage small business empowerment, but most of them come in the form of loans, and you need to already have a business established.
Grants for Parolees – The Options
That said, there are still help available for other purposes, including:
State’s Re-Entry Program
The Department of Justice of the United States started this program back in 2009. There is such program in each state, but they may have slightly varying names, depending on the state you’re in. The re-entry program was designed to prevent ex-felons and people on parole to repeat the same mistake and do something illegal. That being said, the grant given by this program is an indirect grant, meaning that the ex-felons won’t be getting the money in cash. The money from the grant is used by the respective department in your state and then it will be used to provide training, job placement services and other work-related purposes.
Educational Grant
Sometimes, people who are on parole would prefer going to college despite all of the financial problems. For people like this, there’s the Pell Grant, which is an excellent grant award program that is given to people with financial need. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid online and then you can learn whether you’re eligible or not. Pell Grant can open other grant opportunities in the education category, so we highly recommend you to obtain it. People who qualify for the Pell Grant award will automatically be qualified for the FSEOG grant. What’s more, many nonprofit organizations and foundations support the Pell Grant awardees.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Financial assistance for parolees is also available in the form of TANF. It’s a monthly stipend from the government that can last a few months, designed for those with utmost financial need. Just as the name suggests, it’s temporary so parolees should use them during their time looking for a job.
Other Government Assistance
There are many other government assistance programs that are available for those in need. Although typically they are not designed specifically for ex-felons or parolees, there are many parolees and ex-felons that fall into this category due to various reasons.
References:
- American Probation and Parole Association
- Image: csgjusticecenter.org
