University of Houston, city partner on scholarship program aimed at ending cycle of incarceration

The city of Houston has partnered with the University of Houston’s C.T. Bauer School of Business to help a select group of young adults take part in a new five-week certification program aimed at ending the cycle of incarceration.

According to a July 22 city press release, the partnership is being funded by corporate partners of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Hire Houston Youth Program, an initiative that connects youth to local jobs.

Scholarships were awarded to 25 participants, who will have the chance to obtain sales certifications from UH’s Stephen Stagner Sales Excellence Institute Sales Academy. The first day of the program was July 22, according to city officials.

Prior to the partnership, the Mayor’s Office of Education conducted outreach to students who struggled with substance use, were at a high risk for future criminal justice involvement and had limited job re-entry ability. More than half of the scholarship spots were awarded to students who have limited access to scholarships or internship opportunities due to past criminal justice involvement, according to the release.

“There is no one set path to success,” Turner said in a statement. “An interaction with the criminal justice system as a teenager should not determine the course of the rest of a person’s life.”

According to the release, the mayor’s office partnered with the Harris County Community Supervision & Corrections Department, which helps individuals become productive citizens through community supervision, the release said.

The Hire Houston Youth Program is another initiative of Turner’s $53 million One Safe Houston plan, announced in early February as a way to combat rising crime in the city.

“By giving these young people an opportunity to advance their skills and reach their career goals, we are creating equity in historically disadvantaged communities; we are keeping kids off the streets and away from gangs and violence; and we are literally changing the lives of the kids who go through this program,” Turner said.